SatAM: The Lost Season
by Gryffindor-Sword
Summary: They thought they had won but an empty void has been filled with the absence of the evil Dr. Robotnik. Follow Sonic and his Freedom Fighting friends as they try to free Mobius once and for all.
1. The Dawn of a New Day

**Author's Note:** _Wow, how long has it been since I posted anything on this account? This- I hope- is my return after a long absence. This 'fic is a continuation of a series long since abandoned and I'm continuing from where it left off. If you don't like this adaption of the Sonic the Hedgehog series; I suggest you leave right away. I've started this nearly two years ago shortly after watching the box set of the series and I just recently gotten back to typing this up. I have a few chapters already prewritten and the first two have alread been betaed but the rest are not. I dedicate this chapter and the next to my former Beta SoloWing of the SMS boards._

_Enough of my chitchatting, on with the show!_

* * *

**SatAM: The Lost Season**

Chapter One

"_The Dawn of a New Day_"

The planet Mobius, once a beautiful and lush world, had been reduced to ruins in just ten short years. The current year was 3235 and the planet showed almost no sign of recovery from the evil dictator who had laid waste to this world for over ten years in an attempt to claim the planet as his own. This evil dictator's name was Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik was once Julian Ivo Kintobor, the Minister of War for King Maximilian Acorn- the reigning monarch at the time. This was back before he launched a coup d'état that overthrew the kingdom; turning the once thriving metropolis into a wasteland filled with factories, warehouses, robotic guards, and robotic citizens who lacked a free will- this was the result of a process known as Robotization.

The majority of the planet was now already under his control as he ruled with an iron fist, and he continued to expand his empire until all that was living was either captured or destroyed. However, he did not foresee that one day a small band of liberators would begin rebelling against him and that one of them would eventually become a _painful_ thorn in his side. This _painful_ thorn was a cool, blue, and witty hedgehog known as Sonic Hedgehog.

Now Sonic was not known for his smarts, but what he lacked in smarts he made up with his incredible speed that can surpass Mach One without assistance. He was a member of a small band of rebels dubbed the Freedom Fighters, who try to liberate their world from its vile dictator.

Recently, the Freedom Fighters had dealt a fatal blow to Dr. Robotnik's plan when Sonic and the exiled crown princess, Sally Acorn, used the mystical Deep Power Stones to destroy the Doomsday Project and halt Robotnik's plans for world domination. It has been said that no one, not even Dr. Robotnik, could have survived this, but; unfortunately, deep in the confines of the central control room, a single being had survived the destruction of the Doomsday Project by hiding in an underground bunker.

"So," the being barely spoke in a whisper as his voice echoed off the metallic confines of the room while he looked at the monitors that showed the destruction that he had escaped, "you foolish hedgehog. You and your pathetic Freedom Fighter friends might have won this time; however, I shall take my place as the Ruler of Mobius!"

His voice became louder and the echoes increased as he let out a loud cackle.

"Rest well, Hedgehog," he flipped a few switches set in the oversized chair's armrest that he was resting in. The computer monitors then zoomed in on the wreckage of the Doomsday Project, "For you'll see that I'm not as forgiving nor as dumb as Uncle Julian."

He loved the way he used his Uncle's name as it rolled off of his tongue- his Uncle was not around to berate him for doing otherwise anymore.

* * *

Faraway from the suffocating pollution that plagued the city of Robotropolis laid a beautiful, lush forest known as the Great Forest. Deep in this forest was the secret hideaway of the Freedom Fighters known as Knothole. This hideaway has been all but untouched by the pollution that belched out of Robotropolis, and has always been a safe haven for those who live there.

It was currently late spring, but it was much hotter than usual due to the amount of pollution that was in the atmosphere. Under one of the many trees laid the former crown princess and she was doing something she thought she would never be able to do at a time like this: relax.

Princess Sally, or just Sally as she liked to be call, was an anthropomorphic brown squirrel with a short tail. She has blue eyes, wears a blue vest and blue boots. She was also deep within her thoughts over the events of the past few days. Recently, a celebration was held in Knothole with cries of "Freedom" and "Freedom Fighters Forever" echoing throughout the safe haven.

The other Freedom Fighter teams who helped them had returned to their own havens to be with their friends and family who had also survived the Coup. Sally knew in the back of her mind that anyone, no matter how low the chance of survival was, could have escaped the explosion.

"Yo, Sal, what's up?" a nasal-tone voice spoke.

Sally looked up, startled to see one of her fellow Freedom Fighters, Sonic Hedgehog.

Sonic was a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with gloved paws, red white-striped sneakers, and green eyes. His long, well-groomed quills gently swayed as he walked towards her. Sally always liked him for his bravery, but it was his cockiness and lack of patience that tends to get on her nerves.

"I've been thinking," Sally replied turning her gaze away from him.

"About?"

"Did we truly win?" she spoke in barely a whisper looking back at him.

"You're kidding?" he joked, mockingly pretending to be shock. "You don't think ole Ro-butt-nik could have survived that explosion?"

"Sonic," her voice became stern as she stood up to face him. "there is a possibility, no matter how slight, that he could have survived it."

Sonic burst into laughter- only serving to aggravate Sally.

"No, seriously," Sonic calmed down; he feigned removing an imaginary tear from his eye, "when are we heading to Robo-town to begin the cleanup?"

"Tonight we plan; tomorrow we go."

"Cool," he gave a thumbs-up, prompting his stomach to begin to rumble. "Oh," Sonic said with false embarrassment, "looks like _moi_ has a craving for some chilidogs." The hedgehog created a sudden gust of wind as he left- his natural speed allowed him to race off at supersonic speeds. Sally returned to her thoughts as she sat back down. She did not want to doubt Sonic's comments, but the hedgehog has been known to be right at times. She hoped that this was one of them.

The squirrel's thoughts went to the other Freedom Fighters. So many lives have been ruined and many may never recover from the events of the Coup. Her thoughts then turned to another friend of hers who had been through much worse at such a young age. In the distance she spotted the one in question, an orange-brownish, blue eyed anthropomorphic fox named Tails.

Now Tails was just a nickname given to him by Sonic due to his rather _unusual_ ability to fly with his twin tails. His real name was Miles, but he does not remember his last name and Sally did not have the heart to ask him any further. He was found by Sonic, who was on one of his stir-crazy episodes, when he was four. Tails was found under a tree not too far from Knothole and it took a while for Sonic to convince him to come out. It also took him a while to warm up to Sonic, and she hoped that he did not obtain any of Sonic's bad habits since they became best friends.

Sally knew since that day would scar Tails for life, and she hoped that one day he would be reunited with his parents. Since that day, the two had seemed to share a surrogate mother/son or aunt/nephew relationship.

Sally also hoped to free her father from a prison known as the Void- which was a horrible dimensional rift that offered no hope of escape. For the Void came with a curse, if one should attempt an escape after a prolonged exposure; their body would crystallize. The thought of her father brought tears to her eyes, and she longed for his company once again.

Sally lifted herself off of the ground and made her way toward her hut to make preliminary preparations for their mission in the morrow. However, she was not prepared for what would be waiting for her when that time came.

* * *

"He's not coming, Sonic!" Sally sternly argued when she saw Sonic, with Tails in tow, stepping into her hut for the planning.

"Come on, Sal!" Sonic countered with a laidback attitude and a cocky smirk on his face. "He came up with a mondo cool plan with that fake DP Stone, and was able to shut down an entire power plant on his own."

"Sh-sh-" Sally began to stutter; she was shocked at the latter part of his statement, "shut down an entire power plant? When?"

"Oh," he said mockingly- scratching the side of his head in deep thought, "the night before with his mondo cool plan to use a fake DP Stone to fool ole Ro-butt-nik."

If looks could kill, Sally's would kill everyone in the room twice over. Her lips tightened so much that she looked like she swallowed a lemon while her stern eyes studied Sonic's lack of concern- the _very_ idea that he would not to tell her about this. She turned her back on the duo and stormed her way toward her window to peer outside and vent her anger. Everyone in the room remained silent as they tried to advert their eyes away at the spectacle that they were but all used to.

Bunnie Rabbot, an anthropomorphic half-cybernetic brown, green eyed rabbit, occupied her gaze on a vase that contained a small bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers.

Antoine Depardieu, an anthropomorphic brown, tail-less, blue eyed coyote, gave a distinct 'humph' while crossing his paws. His entire pose said ''ow dares anyone insult zee princezz.'

Rotor Walrus, an anthropomorphic purple, black eyed walrus, was busy dutifully cleaning his digit flippers of some none-existent grease.

Ari Ram, an anthropomorphic light grey-beige, orange eyed ram with large curved horns, raised an eyebrow not knowing what to think of the spectacle as he stood with crossed digit hooves.

Sally, meanwhile, was deep in thought as she leaned on her windowsill, "An entire power plant," she thought still with bitterness in her thoughts at what Sonic had just told her, "and a plan to give us an edge over Robotnik."

She looked out of the corner of her eye to see Sonic standing there trying to look innocent. He failed in so many ways while Tails leaned against the doorframe with his paws casually behind his back. Sally was questioning Tails' aptitude since he has been known to be quite smart for someone his age.

He was able to get straight A's when Rosie, her governess, taught them when they were kids and the times she had played chess in the past- most of their games ended in a stalemate only allowing a few scant wins between the two. There were also times she wondered how he was able to do so well in the computer hacking puzzles that she set up for him during his training to become a Freedom Fighter, and how he was able to do them in increasing shorter amounts of time with a few modifications that did not seem to fool him.

She turned back toward her friends while letting out a long sigh. Sally knew that it was dangerous for Tails to be out in a treacherous place like Robotropolis, but for some reason, a fluke or not, he was able to prove himself time and time again during his Freedom Fighter tests- even if he tended to emulate Sonic at times.

"Fine," she grudgingly relented, prompting a pair of 'way cools' from the hedgehog and fox as well as a pair of high-paws, "on _one_ condition."

It seemed that the tension in the atmosphere was relieved to a certain degree, but it was still quite thick.

"He is to _follow_ orders, and to _do_ as he is told," she commanded with the practiced voice of authority that fit a princess.

"Of course he will!" Sonic replied yet again with his laidback attitude; prompting Sally to inwardly roll her eyes. "Right, T-2!" he turns to his young comrade giving him a thumbs-up and a wink.

"Right," Tails giggled while returning the gesture.

"Now that's settle," she turned her back on the duo and made her way towards a small metallic table in her room. "Let's begin our planning."

She flipped a switch on the side of the table and it projected a small scaled replica of the city of Robotropolis as everyone gathered around it. This device was built by Sir Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog, uncle to Sonic, when he was temporarily freed from the programming that held him against his will due to being Roboticized.

The origin of the Roboticizer had become known when Sonic and Sally tried to change the past with the help of the Time Stones. They found out that Sir Charles was the one who designed it for medical purposes, but soon Robotnik, Julian at the time, stole it. The two, after adopting the aliases of Juice and Alicia to fool their younger-selves in Sir Charles' lab, tried to get the warning out to Sally's father, but they arrived the _day of_ the Coup prompting a change in events making the yet to be Freedom Fighters getting captured.

Sonic and Sally were able to save them from a fate that would make them nonexistent in the future. That day, Robotnik gained his robotic arm- courtesy of Sonic- and Sally was able to convince Rosie to stay in Knothole in order to save her from the fate of their time: Robotization. The two had kept silent about their trip since they had failed to change the past that day.

"So," Sonic said in confusion while scratching his left ear; after Sally went over the plan. "we're not going to do a cleanup?"

"No, Sonic," Sally replied in an even tone as her anger now subsided, "we have more important things to do than a cleanup of our city."

"Oh, muh stars!" Bunnie exclaimed with an accent of the Deep Southern Provinces of the planet while putting a paw on her gasping mouth. "Ya mean aftah all these years. We-"

"_Mon dieu_!" Antoine exclaimed with a thick accent found in the Delmont Province of Mobius.

"Sally," Rotor said at a lost of breath while playing with his hat. "Does that mean? We-"

"Yes," Sally replied with her voice breaking, forcing her to take a moment to regain her composure. "Everyone," she takes the moment to look at everyone to see that they shared her tearful- yet joyful- eyes, "we are going to put some of these fears to rest. We are going to hack into the main computer and get the Citizenry List from it."

The air, once thick, now was filled with tearful jubilation. Everyone present in the room had lost someone close to them since the Coup, and this mission might just help them locate their love ones.

Sally then ordered everyone to get a good night's rest as they will be leaving before daybreak in the morning. She then did one thing that had always been a rarity in times of war like this: a walk in the cool, spring night air.

A gentle breeze blew through the haven gently rocking the paper lanterns hung between the huts that said to keep the evil spirits away in times of war. This change in weather was a welcome sight for everyone in the village as they all tried to limit their activity until it became cooler.

Sally enjoyed this part of the day the most as it reminded her of her younger days: her innocence before the Coup. She made her way towards the edge of the haven to a small pond named the Ring Pool in order to pick up a Power Ring.

The Power Ring, an ingenious invention by Uncle Chuck, is a tool that only Sonic Hedgehog can use. It is a ring far too big to fit around a finger and far too small to fit snuggly on one's head. It increases Sonic's speed exponentially, for a short time at least, allowing him to escape from danger. It has other uses, but only Sonic can use them effectively. They are made twice a day by a mysterious gem in the Pool, and only Uncle Chuck knew the process that converted the Power Stone's energy into Power Rings.

Sally walked over a fallen log, which acted like a makeshift dock, by the small pond. The stagnant, mirror-like pond reflected the lights of the night as well as her own reflection.

A sudden golden glow illuminated from the pond and a vortex started to form. The vortex rose from the pond like an upside-down waterspout carrying the golden glow with it. She knew a Power Ring was forming for she has seen it countless times. The glow collected at the apex of the spout, and then as suddenly as it started. The waterspout stopped leaving only the Power Ring in his wake.

Sally caught the Power Ring without a second thought knowing that they are going to need them in the future regardless- even if they have stockpiled them over the past few days.

As it touched her skin, the golden glow dulled leaving a ring that did not look as magnificent as before.

She did not know how long she stood there reflecting on her thoughts. It was the drawling voice of one of her friends that brought her back to reality.

"You alright, Sally-Girl?"

Slightly startled, Sally turned to see Bunnie approaching the Pool. Her metallic limbs reflected the starlight from above.

"I'm fine," she replied as she walked off of the log.

"Yeh sure, Sugah?"

"Yes… it's just," Sally paused momentarily to recollect her thoughts. Tears renewed their escape from her eyes. "I just hope that this war is over, and that we can help everyone recover their families so we can start rebuilding our lives."

She was doing a splendid job of holding back her cracking voice, which was due to her sadness.

"Why don'cha get some rest? We all need some if we're goin' t' be in tiptop shape fer tomorrow?" Bunnie suggested, noting the sadness in her best friend's voice.

Sally nodded in agreement and began to walk toward her hut with her friend.

She took a deep breath taking in the smells of the night as she looks at the diamond filled sky. Then suddenly, something streaked across the sky only appearing for a split second. Sally suddenly stopped thinking for a short time before clasping in prayer.

"Sally-Girl?" Bunnie questioned but she didn't get an answer from her.

"Please," Sally thought trying to not sound like she was begging, "help those that have lost everything from the Coup and after by giving them hope for the future."

"Sally-Girl?" Bunnie repeated bring Sally out of her thoughts. "Yeh're, as Sonic would put it, 'spacin' out' on me."

"I'm alright Bunnie. It's just-" she pauses to look at the twinkling sky while shedding a few tears, "I just spotted a shooting star."

"Oh," Bunnie said understandingly giving her a warming smile. "What didcha wish fer?"

Sally shook her head, "I can't tell you."

"Oh well," Bunnie replied shrugging her shoulders. "You can't blame a girl fer tryin'."

The sound of someone muttering drew their attention to a nearby tree. Hanging upside-down from the tree was a large, scaly creature named Dulcy.

Dulcy was an young adolescent green scaled, green eyed dragon twice the size of an average Mobian and a member of the Freedom Fighters. She was sleeping from a sturdy branch with her prehensile tail wrapped around it and her semi-transparent wings draped around her like a primitive blanket while she sucked on her thumb. Then Sally spotted Tails, who should be in bed at this time, under the same tree.

Tails' knees were brought up into his chest while his chin rested on his crossed paws. His fluffy twin tails were brought around him in an effort to comfort himself. Sally has seen this before and she knew that there was something on his mind.

"Tails," she said in a motherly tone as she approached him, but he did not seem to acknowledge her. "Sweetie?"

Sally put a paw on his shoulder; an action which startled him from his stoop.

"Yeh're lookin' more glum than a Jun' bug in the win'ertime, Sugah," Bunnie sweetly said as she joined him on the ground. "What's on yer mind?"

"Nothing," Tails replied. He gave off the strong notion that he had been trying to hold back his tears.

Sally shared a look with Bunnie knowing that they both would need to choose their words carefully so they do not upset the pup any further.

"You're thinking about tomorrow's mission," Sally's question came out as a statement.

"Uh-huh," he semi-muttered a response nodding his head.

"Don't worry, Sugah," Bunnie said putting a hand on his shoulder. "If yeh're worried 'bout yer parents, I'm sure you'll rememb'r them and they'll rememb'r you too. Yeh're not an easy fox t' miss- with yer twin tails and all."

"I guess you're right," Tails replied wiping a few tears from his face. "And I've been thinking," he paused momentarily to look at the stars and was able to pick out a few of his favorite constellations, "about the time that Sonic first brought me here."

"What about it?" Sally asked just out of curiosity.

He takes a deep breath as he tried to think back to that day six years prior.

"We never really got along until he first started to teach me how to play dirt hockey."

Bunnie giggled slightly, "Ya two nevah saw each other eye-ter-eye since Sonic was more keen on makin' Sugah-Twan's life miserable."

Sally nodded in agreement as the memories of yesteryear came into her mind.

Sonic and Tails were never the friends they are today. Tails had spent most of the time with her or Bunnie since Sonic's pranks, which were meant for Antoine, ended up getting him instead! Their friendship had been rocky for several lunar cycles since he came to Knothole, and Tails would not talk to Sonic even if Sonic did something that he would never normally do: apologize. It was not until Tails spotted Sonic doing his solo rendition of a new game he coined 'dirt hockey,' with commentary, when the two actually started to talk to each other on civil terms. Since then, the two became fast friends and they had remained friends for almost six years.

"Yes," Sally nodded in agreement. "Why did you bring this up?"

"Oh, nothing important," he replied as his gaze adverted to the stars above before standing up to stretch his legs. "Well, I think I'll be getting to bed."

"Do ya want me tah read ya a bedtime story, Sugah?" Bunnie asked him.

"N-no," he stuttered slightly, "I'll be fine."

Not wanting to press any further, Sally rose off of the ground, moved to Tails and then hugged him.

"Good night, Sweetie."

She then administered something that always seemed to perk him up: the 'funny kiss,' a peck on each cheek ending with one on the tip of his nose.

Sally watched him run off, noting the tears still in his eyes. She wanted to run off after him, but Bunnie's voice brought her back to Mobius.

"Ah," as she shed a few tears from her eyes, "our li'l Tails is growin' up."

Sally nodded in agreement as she watched Tails walk off to his hut.

"Let's get some sleep, Sally-Girl, as tomorrow is gonna be a big day."

Sally nodded in agreement once again taking one last look at the moonless night sky. The stars twinkled in the night sky like diamonds glowing in the sun in a cave. The only disturbance to the sky was the second shooting star of the night.

* * *

**Post Author's Note:** _What do you think? Does this warrant enough for the haters to at least appreciate one's hard work or not?_

_Reviews are much appreciated. Let's keep those Freedom Fighting spirits alive!_

_Gryffindor-Sword, Long Time SatAM fan, falling out!_


	2. An Empty Void Filled: Part I

**Author's Note:** _Well, I'm kind of disappointed at the number of reviews I've received and I hope that it will pick up in the future as this 'fic progresses. This is the final Betaed chapter done by SoloWing, member of the SMS boards. The rest, I warn you, will be done by me and I hope they meet the expectations of this and the previous chapter._

_Enough chit-chat, on with the 'fic._

* * *

Chapter Two

"_An Empty Void Filled: Part I_"

The air was thick with foul smelling chemicals in the city of Robotropolis, the place littered with metal shards from various metallic automations that once patrolled the city and the distinct stench of burning oil and sulfur hung in the air. The life-giving rays of the sun never shined here due to the blanket of pollution in the skies, nor could flora grow in these hazardous conditions. Not one living being dared to venture into this city for fear of being captured and thus to receive a fate _far_ worse than death: Robotization. Only the valor of the Freedom Fighters helped them make it through each mission as they made their way through the streets of the former city of Mobotropolis. The city remained largely unchanged since the Coup except for a few new 'improvements' implemented by Robotnik to help him keep his grasp on 'his capital city.'

The only living being that was in the city was a lone figure peering out of a manhole. The figure peered around at their surroundings only to quickly pull their head back when an oncoming hover patrol came by. The metallic lid made a loud clunk as it fell into place, for the figure's head suddenly left the surface.

"All's clear," Sonic said as he slid down the ladder towards his friends.

"Okay," Sally replied as she took charge. "Let's go over the plan again."

"Ari, Antoine, and I will meet up with Uncle Chuck and try to disable any remaining security systems," Rotor replied as he gestured to his comrades while ignoring Antoine's knocking knees and sweaty demeanor.

"You, Sugah-Fox, and I will make our way towards the central control center and get that li'l ole Citizenry List," Bunnie replied.

"I'm the decoy as usual," Sonic replied with mocked disinterest; he shrugged his shoulders- as if he was bored with his part of the mission.

"Remember, Sonic," Sally said sternly towards him hoping that her warning would get though that thick skull of his as he climbed up the ladder. "You are to distract the patrols, and _only_ to distract them. Just," she lets out a short exhale only to choke slightly on it, "just don't get carried away!"

"_Moi_?" Sonic replied as if shocked- while mockingly pointing to himself. "The Hedgehog knows how to follow orders!"

"Guys, I've also got something to use if we get in a pinch," Rotor interrupted as Sonic made his way up the ladder as he dug into his bandolier slung around his shoulder. He pulled out a paw-sized capsule and showed it to his comrades. "This capsule contains the metal-eating plants that we used during our mission to take down the Doomsday Project. I've placed them in these capsules since they're more durable than our old water balloons."

"You're a genius, Rote!" Sonic exclaimed as he slid back down the ladder for a second time and took the capsules pawed to him.

He pawed them out to everyone except for Antoine, knowing that his cowardice was a hindrance rather than an asset to them; Bunnie, for her own safety due to her metallic limbs; and Tails, as he was too young to handle a chemical that dangerous.

Sonic quickly made his way up the ladder again only to briefly pause to peer outside before leaving the safety of the sewers while his friends congregated at the ladder waiting for the signal. The only thing that was heard underground was Antoine's whimpering- which always accompanied him when he joins on a mission. Sonic quickly hid behind a pile of scrap metal as the sound of rhythmic, metallic steps were heard.

As they passed the scrap pile, Sonic caught the glimpse of an all too familiar foe, the SWAT-bot. The SWAT-bots are domed-headed drones that were twice the size of an average Mobian and were meant to strike fear into the hearts of enemies. They were once used as peace officers, but since the Coup- their programming had been altered only to acknowledge the orders of Robotnik.

"Hey, SWAT-butts!" Sonic cheerfully called out getting the drones' attention as he got on top of the scrap pile.

Their wrist-mounted lasers were pointed at the source of the sound as their red visor optical lenses focused on the intruder.

"Heeeeeeeeeere's, Sonic!" he announced with the voice of an announcer on some TV show announcing the host's entrance while gesturing to the stage-right of an imaginary stage.

The drones' optical programming scanned the intruder and they both came to the same conclusion. A conclusion that was familiar to Sonic and friends.

"Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!"

They opened fire on him only to miss their target as he somersaulted off his perch. Sonic continued to dodge the attacks, putting on a bit of an acrobatic show in the process, while more units came to investigate the commotion. He then spotted more SWAT-bots, drawn in by the commotion, coming up on him from behind during one of his summersaults.

"_Ciao_," Sonic mockingly waved to his audience- revving up his legs before jetting off in a sudden gust of wind and a soft boom.

The drones gave chase while the rest of the Freedom Fighters left the safety of the sewers to pursue their part of the mission.

* * *

Deeper in the city of Robotroplis, a lone figure stood in the shadows of an abandoned warehouse that had been damaged from debris of the Doomsday Project several hundred yards away from the blast zone. This lone figure was an automated, mustached hedgehog with blue-grey metallic plating and dulled red eyes. It stood in the dark, dank shadows hiding from any passing patrols that came through the area. Its internal clock read that dawn had just arrived- as it had no horizon to go by. This automated hedgehog was an unfortunate victim who had been through the process of Robotization. The name of this automation was Sir Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog, but was referred to as Uncle Chuck.

He was no longer under the programming that held him against his will (anyone that went through the process was well aware of their surroundings but _helpless_ to do anything about it). It was thanks to an invention of his, a Power Ring, that he was able to be temporarily freed. He was later able to free himself from the programming that held so many against their wills, and turned into a spy to help the Freedom Fighters by becoming a liaison within Robotroplis for them. Uncle Chuck was later found out by Robotnik, but he had a contingency plan just in case something like that would happen.

He mentally sighed heavily- for his current state did not allow him to breathe- knowing that his guard must be up even with the slight lax of security. The sound of a piece of scrap metal falling broke him out of his trance, forcing him to retreat further into the shadows. It was then followed by the sounds of a number of beings panting; they were coming toward him. Three figures rounded the corner of a scrap pile and not a moment too soon as a passing hover patrol passed by. Uncle Chuck knew who they were and he let out a birdcall- spooking the uniformed tail-less coyote and causing him to jump in fright and land in the scrap pile they were hiding behind. The walrus returned the call to Uncle Chuck and he came out of his hiding place.

"Is everything okay?" Uncle Chuck asked his companions.

"_Oui_," came the coyote's reply from within the scrap pile. He emerged with a SWAT-bot helmet on his head. "E-everything i-is r-rather ch-cheesy," his voice echoed under the SWAT-bot's head.

"That's 'peachy,' Antoine," the walrus corrected.

"_Oui_, that is what I am saying," Antoine replied as he removed the head off of his own.

"Let's get going since the next patrol will be arriving soon," Uncle Chuck gestured into the warehouse.

Ari and Rotor followed him while Antoine climbed out of the scrap pile, only to slip and fall into an oil puddle- further staining his well-polished boots and further tarnishing his once clean, well-pressed uniform.

"Messy, messy, messy," he muttered trying to clean the stains with the lacy pawkerchief that he pulled out from his breast pocket.

"Antoine!" his three companions shouted at him to come.

"Coming!" he replied leaving a few oil-prints in his wake as he made his way into the warehouse.

Not a moment too soon, the passing SWAT-bot patrol came by pausing at Antoine's oil-latent footprints.

"Foreign prints spotted," droned one of the units.

"Ignore," a second unit droned, "must be a malfunctioning unit. Ignore."

The two units continued on their course ignoring the possibility of intruders in the vicinity.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic was speeding through the streets, keeping any patrol that would spot him away from his comrades. He whooped and hollered as he zigzagged, dodging the laser blasts of the SWAT-bots and hover units.

"Too slow!" he taunted, dodging the blasts as he swerved to the right before turning to the left. He hollered an 'Excuse me!' as he sped between two SWAT-bots- knocking them over in the process.

Sonic continued his course- leaping off the top of a scrap pile and sliding down an old iron pipe to the bottom. He leapt off at the end of the pipe while doing an acrobatic stunt, landed on the ground, then jetted off with the hover units still in pursuit.

"Huh?" he thought out loud as a whirling sound could be heard from above.

Sonic zoomed behind a scrap pile loosing his pursuers- while they droned 'Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!' The sound he heard before was now closer to him and he averted his eyes towards the source.

It was one of Robotnik's Spy-Orbs, an orbed, hovering security drone about the size of a volleyball. It had a single black camera eye and four hinges that stuck out from where the 'eye' was. A slight smirk came across the hedgehog's face as he _could not_ resist what he was about to do.

"_Bonjourrrrr_, Rob-butt-nik!" he greeted the Spy-Orb with a slightly crude imitation of Antoine's accent and a mock wave. "How are you this fine morning?" he asked the Spy-Orb's invisible audience with his regular accent.

The Spy-Orb remained silent except for the sound of its lens focusing in on Sonic.

Sonic took a deep breath of air, only to choke on the pollution-filled atmosphere, "How does the air of Freedom suit you?" he recomposed himself as if nothing happened. "How about you Snootly?" as his attention turned to a second of his invisible audience. "Still in the Fat One's shadow?"

His one-sided questioning was cut short when a laser blast grazed the top of his quills. Yelping in pain, Sonic checked the damage with a vanity mirror that he had taken from his backpack before returning his attention towards the Spy-Orb and storing away his mirror.

"This message has been brought to you by the Knothole Freedom Fighters," he spoke in such a fast manner- it like he was an advertiser trying to finish his script before he ran out of time. "Fighting for Mobius' freedom from Ro-butt-niks and Short-niks alike."

"Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!" the automations droned while simultaneously opening fire on their target only to miss.

"_Ciao_!" Sonic waved at the Spy-Orb before jetting off with a small boom- knocking the Spy-Orb to the ground and forcing it to spin like a top.

The robot camera shook slightly- due to its stabilizers being temporarily offline- as it got off of the ground. The Spy-Orb then, unfortunately, was trampled by the pursuing SWAT-bots. Its lens cracked under the pressure; it continued to zoom in on the fleeing hedgehog before it finally went offline.

* * *

Deeper and closer to the center of the city, the last of the three teams of Freedom Fighters was making their way towards their goal- the central control center. The central control center, an egg-shaped metallic structure, once housed Robotnik's headquarters, exactly where the once pristine palace of their former city once stood. The patrols in the area were thicker than ever then they had been in the past and the danger was higher than ever.

Sally poked her head out of an alleyway only to quickly pull it back in as a passing hover unit came by. The passing patrols were just as predictable as they were in the past and it seemed their pre-programmed routes had remained unchanged ever since their master's demise. Another patrol passed by and Sally dashed across the walkway since the next patrol were only forty-five seconds away. The distance for her to travel was roughly 25 yd- equal to the length of one of Sonic and Tails' makeshift dirt hockey fields- and it was no easy feat for her. She and her companions had to dodge metal shards and pollution-filled mud puddles that littered their path to the next alley.

Sally dashed across the walkway expertly zigzagging around the debris and making it into the shadows of the next alley. She planted her back to the wall facing away from the patrols while keeping her eye on her companions. Her heart seemed to skip a beat since Tails was the next one to cross the gap. This would be his third time in this foul environment.

The first time Tails had _even_ set foot in Robotropolis was when Sally had ordered Sonic to get some cotter pins to replace their wooden ones for their catapults. She was not too pleased with Sonic for bringing Tails there, but she was relieved that he was okay. They did run into Sonic's pet dog, Muttski, who had been Robotized ever since the Coup. The second time Tails had been in Robotropolis was when Uncle Chuck, who had been recently been De-Robotized but reverted back to his robotic state, kidnapped Tails and Antoine. Uncle Chuck eventually broke free of his programming with the help of his nephew, Sonic.

The next patrol came by and Sally gestured for Tails to come next. She watched him with bated breath as he ran the distance. He slipped once but swiftly recovered when he dodged around the first mud puddle. He did make it to her with plenty of time to spare; she noted that his nerves did not seem to be rattling as much as hers were. She gestured for Bunnie to run the distance after the next patrol came by and they continued through the alleys to their destination.

The trio eventually made it to the base of the central control center to an air vent and- with the help of Bunnie's left metallic hand- entered it in order to make a stealthy entrance.

* * *

Meanwhile, near the central control center, four drones were making their way towards one of the central security systems. One of them was a SWAT-bot with a slightly dented and crooked head and the other three were drones programmed for menial tasks. These light green-plated drones, known as the Tech-bot, are about the size of an average Mobian and traveled on treads. One of these small drones seemed to be shaking slightly as if its internal mechanics appeared to be failing. The drones approached the entrance to the compound and its guard. The guard was a walker unit.

The walker unit was just one of many guard units that protected the high security areas. It stood about twice the size of an average Mobian and they come in a vast amounts of colors- primarily in dark shades.

"Present your security passes," the unit droned.

The three small drones presented their passes and the walker unit scanned them with a scanner on its robotic digit.

"Proceed," the unit droned again before turning its attention to the dented SWAT-bot. "State your business."

"Escort," the SWAT-bot replied, "by order of Dr. Robotnik."

"No record of escort services to these drones available."

"Last minute orders."

The walker unit remained silent for a moment while its digital computer computed its data.

"Proceed," it opened the door via a wireless command.

The four drones entered the compound and the one in need of repair seemed to shake even more violently. They marched through the eerily quiet compound. The only sounds that were heard were the whirling of their treads and the metallic steps of their escort. They reached their destination- one of the high security rooms- and used their security passes to enter. One of the drones keyed in a code that promptly locked the door behind them.

"That should do it," the drone said as its head opened like a door, revealing a hollow shell with Uncle Chuck inside. "Let's get our job done in peace."

"Good," a second drone said as its head opened, revealing Rotor. "This shell is a very," he grunted as he tried to get out since his physique was made of blubber, "tight fit."

"That's the best I could do."

Rotor had been able to free himself, making a low pop as his bulk escaped the hollow shell.

"At least I can take this suit off," the SWAT-bot said as it removed its head to reveal Ari. "This may be light but it's hot as heck."

"I'm just glad my voice synthesizer worked and that your horns didn't give us away."

"Is it safe to be coming out now?" the last of the drones asked nervously while it continued to shake.

"It's safe, Antoine," Uncle Chuck assured him. "You can come out now,"

Antoine nervously poked his head out of the hollow shell and uneasily made his way out of it. His nervous demeanor prompted him to slip and fall hard on the floor with a reverberating thud. His companions made a 'shushing' motion to him- only to raise the tension. They stood still for a few moments hoping that no one heard Antoine's fall.

"Okay," Uncle Chuck said after a few moments of straining his metallic ears for any patrols. "Let's get started with disabling the security system."

"Right," Rotor replied while cracking his digit flippers. "Antoine, you're on watch duty with Ari."

"_Oui_," Antoine weakly replied saluting as he got up to dust himself off.

The two mechanics barely started to crack the security systems when a nasality voice spoke through the speakers.

"Security Room One-Five-A, what's going on there?" the accent to the voice seemed to come from near the Delmont Province.

The Freedom Fighters looked startled at the sound of the voice and it sounded _eerily_ familiar to them. Thinking fast, Uncle Chuck retreated back into the drone he came in and activated the intercom on his end.

"Routine diagnostics."

"There is no diagnostics scheduled for today."

"Orders by-"

"Never mind," the voice interrupted Uncle Chuck. "Just go about your business since I'm expecting guests soon."

There was a click through the speakers and Uncle Chuck ended his end on the speakers. There seemed to be a long silence only broken by Ari while Uncle Chuck got out of the droid's shell.

"Is it me, or is that Robotnik's nephew?"

"It is," Uncle Chuck confirmed nodding his head, "and I'm not sure how he survived the explosion, but I think we may need to scrap this mission for now."

"If that's true," Rotor suggested with a slightly shaking voice. "Shouldn't we scramble the security systems to give our friends some time to escape?"

"We could," Uncle Chuck replied nodding his head, "but he may know something is up. I think we should scrap this mission, and get everyone out of here to assess the situation."

It was decided that all of the Freedom Fighters should retreat until they could assess the threat level of a foe they didn't see much as a threat.

* * *

Deep in the central control center, Sally and her group finally breached the center and began their work to get the object of their goal: the Citizenry List. Bunnie was put on lookout while Sally had Tails helped her with getting the List from within the database of Robotnik's network. Sally was surprised how helpful Tails was to them; the two were able to quickly bypass the heavy security locks just to get to the List. After they got to what they needed, Sally hooked up her small, portable, paw-sized computer named NICOLE.

"NICOLE," Sally said as she hooked up the computer to Robotnik's, "download this file."

"File may exceed memory capacity," her computer replied with a digitized feminine voice.

"Compress it as much as possible."

"Complying," NICOLE replied as 'she' beeped and processed the command.

"How long until the file is downloaded?"

"At this current speed," NICOLE stayed silent as 'she' computed an estimated time of completion, "estimated time is fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes," Sally repeated NICOLE's estimate in thought.

To her, that was an eternity in this foul environment and her nerves were now nearing their limit. It was becoming unbearable! They did not know how much time had passed until a soft chuckle followed by an eerily familiar voice startled them.

"It seems that my web has caught a few _annoying_ flies."

Out of the dim shadows came an extremely short being no taller than Tails, who was flanked by two SWAT-bots. This being seemed completely alien to a Mobian; it could only be described as a hairless ape save for a few strands of hair on his balding head. He had a large, pointed, protruding nose that seemed to be out of proportion to the rest of the creature's body size. He was dressed in black with a flowing cape and black gloves. His blue eyes seemed to be full of malice.

The Freedom Fighters were startled to find that someone they had overlooked had survived the destruction of the Doomsday Project. This being's name was Snively Kintobor and nephew of the former dictator, Dr. Robotnik.

* * *

**Post Author's Note:**_ How was the action? Does it meet up with the expectations we fans liked about the series? Is Sonic's cockiness on the ball? How's the humor: in dialoge and text?_

_Reviews are much appreciated. Let's keep those Freedom Fighter spirits alive!_

_Gryffindor-Sword, Long Time SatAM fan, falling out!_


	3. An Empty Void Filled: Part II

**Author's Note:**_ Another chapter completed as I continue to give this series the proper ending it deserves. I'm still kind of disappointed at the number of reviews vs. hits I'm getting, but (as one reviewer has kindly pointed out) that this 'fic is a "true diamond in the rough." I think I've ranted enough for now; on with the next chapter!_

* * *

Chapter Three

"_An Empty Void Filled: Part II_"

Sally was both shocked and mentally kicking herself for forgetting about Snively. He did not seem much of a threat without Robotnik around, but he can be just as cunning as him- providing the situation was right.

Snively did find the location of Knothole when Sonic temporarily had his memory scrambled with a device known as the Memory Scrambler. He would have succeeded if Tails did not get to the forming Power Ring in time, and for Sally to use it to help Sonic regain his memory. To add insult to injury, Sonic used the Memory Scramble on Snively! It was later found out that it was his ship's guidance system had led him to Knothole- thanks in part to a tracking device placed on him by Snively.

Sally and Uncle Chuck scrambled the coordinates to be in the Great Swamp, but Snively eventually regained his memory due to his uncle's infamous temper (this was after following Sonic's orders to insult and attack his rotund uncle while in his dazed state). After regaining his senses, Snively told his uncle of his find and Robotnik quickly 'forgave' his nephew's previous actions. They both searched through the night in the deepest regions of the Great Swamp, but they could not find the secret location of Knothole. According to Uncle Chuck, Robotnik was not _too_ pleased with Snively's find, and he threatened him with dismantlement after Roboticization if he would to have a repeat of this action.

Pressing his advantage, Snively chuckled again before clearing his throat.

"I commend you, Princess, for bringing all of your little friends here," his eyes trailed over both females and briefly eyed Tails as he stood concealed behind them. "I'm also surprised that you enlisted a child to come along with you. That is a bold and a very strange move coming from you as a leader."

Sally remained silent for she knew that this meeting with Snively was something she did not give much thought. She also knew that when Robotnik was around; Snively had been his lackey. A lackey that Robotnik considered to be a subspecies of himself and most importantly: _expendable_.

Another chuckle escaped from Snively's throat, "Even as we speak, I have a small squad of SWAT-bots investigating a certain security room that seems to have an unscheduled diagnostic check, and I can only assume that your other Freedom Fighter friends are trying to cripple my security system."

* * *

As he spoke, a small squad of SWAT-bots marched their way toward Security Room One-Five-A. They tried to open it with a key code but their clearance codes seemed to be obsolete. Then the lead unit ordered two of its cohorts to open the door by force. They opened the door only to find the room empty with no evidence of anyone being in the room previously.

* * *

"Ah," Snively said suddenly upon hearing his communicator beep, "this must be the SWAT-bot squad now."

Sally held her breath fearing what fate her friends were about to face. "Report," he spoke into his communicator.

"Sir," the lead SWAT-bot unit droned, "Security Room One-Five-A was found empty."

"Empty!" Snively repeated, his current demeanor shifted towards irritation.

"Yes, Sir," the drone replied, "and our security codes were-"

"I don't care about your security codes! I want all patrols on the lookout for those pesky Freedom Fighters!"

He ended his transmission before the unit could reply growling in frustration and all the while this was going on. Sally was planning an escape for her comrades; she was inching her paw into her vest pocket to get the metal-eating capsules out. Bunnie saw what she was doing- her robotic legs tensed for the ensuring chaos that was about to occur.

"Well," he recomposed himself dragging a hand through the few strands of hair on his head, "at least I have you, Princess."

"Do you know what Sonic would say in a situation like this?" Sally asked with a slight smirk on her face. A smirk _truly_ unfit for a princess.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Snively replied with dry sarcasm.

"Think fast!" she said lobbing two capsules at the two SWAT-bots.

The twin capsules hit their intended targets spewing out a thick cloud of dust. Snively yelped in surprise as he hit the ground as he tried to dodge whatever the princess had thrown at him. The distinct sound of electricity could be heard crackling from his drone escorts as they began to flail about.

As the thick cloud vanished he observed the damage done by her. Their outer shells were being eaten by the powder as if it was made of acid. Limbs were torn from their body's landing on the metallic ground with a reverberating thud; electricity still crackled around him and one of the drone's detached hands still twitched as the electricity continued to surge inside it.

Snively growled in frustration again as he rose off the ground and faced his prisoners. The last thing he saw next was a flying metallic foot coming straight at him. The foot hits him on the bridge of his abnormally large nose before coming into contact right between his eyes; he stumbled backwards hitting his head against the large chair that his large uncle once occupied. He groaned in pain as his head wobbled until he slouched over into unconsciousness.

Bunnie stayed in her defensive stance as Snively slumped to the ground while she kept her eyes on the door in front of her for any guards who could have heard what just happened from entering the room.

"NICOLE," Sally said as she quickly overcame her slight daze. "Discontinue download."

"Discontinuing," Sally quickly unplugged her computer before 'she' had confirmed the discontinuation of the download.

"We're leaving," Sally order as she pocketed NICOLE into her vest pocket. "Tails," her voice turned to concern as she dropped the 'commander' tone.

Tails was standing in a martial arts stance similar to Bunnie's but he had his body facing forward instead of to the side.

"I'm fine," he replied not even sparing a glance at her, for his eyes were on where Snively had collapsed.

Sally was shocked by this action, but she did not want to scold him for it at a time like this. She quickly ran toward the rope they had used to exit the air duct with Tails and Bunnie bringing up the rear. Bunnie quickly replaced the vent to its respective place before making their escape from Robotropolis.

* * *

"Oh no," Sonic moaned as he became surrounded by the drones who had been chasing him, "surrounded again."

"Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!" they droned as they opened fire only to miss and hit one another disabling each other.

"Oh, come on!" he pouted like a small child. "Don't go to pieces on my now!"

"Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!"

"Hello," Sonic said nonchalantly as more hover units came to his position with more SWAT-bots. The SWAT-bots he saw were on hover bikes specially designed to go close to subsonic speeds.

They opened fire on him only to miss as he somersaulted and charged them. Sonic ran between them purposely slowing down allowing them to get a clear shot at him. They next thing the automations knew was their target promptly vanishing from sight only to shoot each other disabling themselves.

He stopped running at the bottom of another scrap pile.

"Come on," Sonic complained with his paws of his hips tapping his foot impatiently. "Come on," he repeated, looking at an imaginary watch on his wrist.

A laser blast grazed his quills from behind causing him to yelp in pain.

"Hey!" he called out at the drone who had 'almost' ruined his quilldo. "That's the second time you SWAT-butts did this to my luscious quills today!"

"Hedgehog Alert!" they droned again opening fire once again.

Sonic jumped backwards avoiding the blasts.

"Fine!" he replied dodging more blasts. "I think it's time we play a new game! A game I like to call," he zigzagged dodging the blasts as he charged them launching himself from a pile of scrap metal. "Whack-A-Hedgehog!" he landed on one of the drones where they opened fire once again hitting one of their own as Sonic dodged the attack. "But in this case," as he sighted his next target, "the Hedgehog whacks back!"

With his blazing speed, Sonic destroyed each drone- safe for one.

"Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!" it droned.

"I give up," Sonic replied suddenly with his paws in the air.

The SWAT-bot fired on its quarry, but its blast was reflected back via Sonic's vanity mirror knocking it to the ground.

Sonic cackled silently as he returned his mirror back to his backpack.

"I hope you like my Mirror Attack, SWAT-butt," Sonic joked before he ran off bowling through more drones like they were bowling pins as he continued his mission with more drones joining in on the chase.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rotor and his group were running through abandoned warehouses as they tried to get out of the robotic city and meet up with their friends at the rendezvous point. Earlier, they parted ways with Uncle Chuck so he could continue being their eyes and ears within Robotropolis. Ari peered out of the doorway while Antoine shook like a leaf and muttered incoherent phrases in his native tongue. Their current hiding place seemed to be a house which seemed to have survived the Coup.

"There's too many of them," he whispered as he spotted numerous SWAT-bots outside the door.

"We are doomed!" Antoine screeched, prompting Rotor to clamp his timid comrade's mouth shut.

"Shush, Ant!" Rotor ordered before removing his flipper from Antoine's mouth.

This, unfortunately, did not help Antoine's demeanor- it seemed to only make him shake even more violently.

"How does it look, Ari?" Rotor asked turning his attention to him.

Ari peered outside counting the number of drones in his sight, and he spotted a transport coming to the area unloading more units.

"More just came in."

Antoine began to whimper faster as he sweated more; Rotor, meanwhile, was preoccupied gazing at where they were hiding- for a hint of familiarity came to his head.

"Hey, I know this place," he said suddenly and Ari cocked his head to the side. "This is the place where Rosie led us to Knothole. Juice had to clear a route for us to get to the secret passage. I wonder what happened to him and Alicia; I hope they're okay," he said the latter mainly to himself.

"Juice?" Ari cocked an eyebrow- thinking the name was a horrible moniker.

"Never mind," Rotor said waving off his question as he ran to the wall. "I'll tell you later after we get out of here."

"Are you sure that it's still here?" he asked, watching Rotor feel along the wall for something with one eye while the other on the drones outside.

"Positive," Rotor replied as he continue to feel along the wall. "The secret passage dumps us near our rendezvous point," he finally found something that felt like a switch. "I think I found it."

He flipped it and the wall slid open revealing a secret passage, and the trio quickly made their way into the passage. The only mishap was Antoine tripping over a piece of debris, but he made it just in time before the passage closed shut on him.

* * *

Elsewhere, Sally and her group made their way out of the central control room successfully, and they were using the alley to get out of the city. They rounded a corner only to meet up with a few SWAT-bots.

"Freeze intruders!" they droned.

Gasping in fright, they quickly changed direction running away from them as the drones chased after them. Sally quickly dropped another metal-eating capsule behind her where it exploded spewing out its contents and destroying their pursuers. They rounded a scrap pile while more SWAT-bots fired upon them from above.

The trio ran around scrap piles and through alleys trying to loose their pursuers but they could not loose them. They rounded another corner meeting up with another SWAT-bot.

"Freeze!" it droned opening fire on them.

"Look out!" Bunnie shouted, pushing Sally out of the way.

The blast hits her torso knocking her to the ground. Part of her tunic was damaged, and Sally and Tails were not prepared for that they saw. It appeared that part of her torso was also Robotized and the wound appeared to have just burned her, now exposed, metallic torso. The lone unit began to approach them with its laser pointed at them.

Tails, without thought, charged at the drone twirling his twin appendages like the propeller of a helicopter while he ignored Sally's cry. Whether it was his adrenaline or the chance to prove himself; he wanted to help protect one of his 'aunts' regardless of the risks. He flipped forward when he was just a foot away from it and administered a kick. A kick he practiced countless times, with Bunnie's guidance, on a practice dummy in the shape of Robotnik to the droid's head knocking it to the ground disabling it. Tails landed on the ground not to far from them while the droid- its head dented- crackled with electricity.

"Bunnie," Sally asked her fallen comrade; after regaining from her shock due to Tails' action, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Sugah," she replied through a groan while she regained her footing as Tails rejoined them.

"Freeze intruders!"

Gasping in fright once again, they found themselves surrounded by the various drones who patrolled Robotropolis; their lasers were trained on the surrounded Freedom Fighters. Sally and Bunnie, following their maternal instinct, put Tails between them in an effort to protect him.

A sudden whoosh of wind approached their position. A whoosh of wind all too familiar to the present Freedom Fighters.

"Hey, Butt-bots!" they all turned to see Sonic on top of a nearby scrap pile. "Pick on someone your own size!"

With Sonic's sudden appearance, the drones' programming was having an internal struggle. They had surrounded their quarry, but a much more urgent threat had appeared. They soon turned to the higher prioritized threat; a prioritized one that was one of their _biggest_ flaws.

"Hedgehog Alert, Priority One!"

Sonic dashed off of the scrap pile as the drones' attention were now on him.

"Sonic!" Sally called out as she saw him jump between two drones, they dove at the hedgehog but missed. "Get to the rendezvous point and we'll meet you there!"

"Roger that, Sal!" he replied as he bowled over one drone before running away with the entourage of automations chasing him.

Sally and her friends quickly entered a nearby sewer and made a hasty retreat to their rendezvous point.

* * *

"You would think that ole Metal-Head's scrapheaps would've given up by now," Sonic thought as he dashed through the junk-filled streets.

He zigzagged around a SWAT-bot dodging a blast, intended for him, from a drone chasing him. Behind him, a SWAT-bot fired a bazooka-type weapon on Sonic releasing a rocket. Sonic heard the roar of the rocket from behind and he spared a quick glance to confirm his suspicion. When he turned to look forward, he saw more drones blocking his way.

A smirk stretched across his face as he kicked his speed up a notch. They opened fire on him while he zigzagged around the attacks. Sonic jumped over the drones, paused only for a moment, before jetting off. The SWAT-bots continued to fire upon their quarry until the rocket hit them- for they were in its way- destroying them.

He rounded another corner and turned to the right at a T-intersection where he met up with more drones.

"Whoops!" Sonic exclaimed, changing direction and heading the other way. "Whoa!" he suddenly skidded to a stop when he spotted more SWAT-bots blocking his escape route. "Not cool!"

He looked around at his surroundings trying to find an escape route, but there was not one as he was surrounded by SWAT-bots on the ground and hover units in the air. Sighing heavily, Sonic put his paws up in defeat, "I give up." His cockiness was no longer in his tone; it was replaced with defeat.

A few units approached their defeated quarry while the rest kept their weapons trained on him. They were a few feet away from Sonic when their programming failed to calculate _all known_ variables. A small smirk twitched on his face as he pulled out a golden ring from his backpack.

"Just kidding," Sonic joked holding the ring high above his head.

His Power Ring brilliantly glowed as he activated its power; a golden globe surrounded him for a few seconds before it suddenly stopped ending at his feet. Sonic was now fully energized by the Ring's power.

"It's jelly and jam time!" Sonic announced, his vigor renewed, as he revved up his legs- they sounded like a roaring jet engine. His sudden departure left nothing but destruction behind him; he created a massive sonic boom. SWAT-bots, who were caught in the blast zone, were thrown back from where they stood; laying in a heap.

* * *

Snively, who had recovered from being knocked out, watched Sonic's immediate departure from the security monitors.

"Curse you, Hedgehog!" he roared slamming his fists on the over-sized chair's armrest; this action caused him to yelp in pain.

He massaged his hands glaring at the screen where Sonic was last seen. Snively already had a long list of plans he wanted to put into effect, but he could not since his 'dear' uncle did not want to hear of it. He observed from afar mentally listing all of the flaws in his uncle's plans; he knew that one of his plans would be his demise someday. The last time he was allowed to carry one of his plans forward was when he proposed an idea in building a robot who could match Sonic's speed.

The Speed-bot, as it was designated as, was created for the sole purpose to match Sonic's speed. Robotnik called out Sonic for a race with this new creation and Sonic accepted the challenge (Sally had protested that it was a trap, but Sonic, as usual, ignored the warning). The Speed-bot did win the race, but Robotnik was furious at Snively, who was supposed to impede the hedgehog's progress, lost sight of him. They later found out that the other Freedom Fighting pests were in the area, and they used the race as a distraction to cause trouble- this only infuriated Robotnik more. Snively did not see (in his mind) his creation bear fruit after that incident; he could only surmise that his uncle promptly threw it into the trash compactor.

Another reason he did not push those plans forward was to throw the Freedom Fighters into a false sense of security; he knew that it was only a matter of time until they threw together another mission in an effort to cripple the city even further. A second growl escaped from Snively's throat as he slammed his fists down once again; the resulting action was a repeat of his previous one, if not worse.

"I will have my revenge on you, Hedgehog," he vowed as he shook a fist at the fleeing hedgehog on his screen.

* * *

"So," Ari said after hearing Rotor's tale, "this Juice character sounds just like Sonic."

Their group recently met up with Sally's on a ridge overlooking Robotropolis.

"You know," Rotor said removing his hat to scratch his head, "he does. Sonic was going on and on how cool he was." He replaced his hat backwards on his head turning his attention to Bunnie, "Are you okay, Bunnie?"

"I'm fine, Sugah," she replied.

"Why didn't you tell us, 'Aunt' Bunnie?" Tails asked from his seat near her.

She sighed shedding a tear, "I didn' know that I was hit there, Sugah. It wasn' until that night I found out."

"I thought you were braver than that? You could've told us," Tails continued unable to comprehend her reason.

"It's all part of bein' a Freedom Fighter," she replied brushing her drooping left ear from her face. "It takes a brave soul t' tell a secret; even if it could hurt ya in the end, too."

Tails cast his eyes to the ground nodding slightly at her reply. Sally, meanwhile, was standing on the crest of the hill of their rendezvous. Her head was spinning from the meeting with Snively.

How could she be so stupid? She knew that Snively was smart, but smart enough to have a contingency plan just in case the Doomsday Project were to fail? Snively had not been much of a threat to them, but now he had filled the empty void left to him by his absent uncle. She was so deep in her thoughts that she did not hear a distant boom coming from Robotropolis. It was only the sudden rush of the wind that caught her attention- this has been the trademark for Sonic's arrival on any given scene.

Sonic skidded to a halt in the center of the hill still holding onto his Power Ring.

"Hey ladies and gents," he said giving a thumbs up and a wink with a paw on his hip. "Did the mission go well?"

"No, Sonic," Sally breathed a sigh of relief seeing that he had returned safely. "We didn't accomplish our mission."

"Say what?" Sonic said, surprised. "I thought it would be easy with-"

"Sonic," she interrupted him, "Snively's alive."

"You're kidding?"

"No, Sonic," Rotor chimed in. "He's alive since we got a message saying that he's back."

Antoine and Ari both affirmed Rotor's statement.

"No problem," Sonic said, shrugging his shoulders, "we'll get him just like we got ole Bullet-Head." This is when he noticed Bunnie's damaged tunic. He knew that her metallic limbs were a touchy topic for her, but he was still concerned for her. "Sorry for asking Bunnie, but were you also hit there when you were… you know."

"It's a long story, Sugah," she replied with renewed sadness in her voice.

"Let's get home everyone," Sally said taking command again. "We need to get the word out to everyone else that Snively is still alive."

* * *

That night, the Freedom Fighters (except for Sally, who said she would join them later) were gathered in the War Alcove of Knothole.

The War Alcove, a large semi-circular structure in the center of Knothole, had been used numerous times during wars in the past but it had not been used since then. The last time it was used was when the Freedom Fighters used it to plan an attack on the Doomsday Project with the other Freedom Fighters groups.

"I'm back," Sally announced when she had returned, setting NICOLE down on the table.

"Where'd you go, Sal?" Sonic asked from his seat.

Sally, much to her annoyance, spotted that his feet were propped up on the desk, but she did not say anything about it.

"I visited everyone in Knothole to deliver them the news of what we found," she replied before pausing momentarily, sighing heavily, "and the news is not good."

Silence met them as they all gazed at the desk in front of them. They had hoped that some of the others' loved ones made it out, but from what Sally had just told them- it sounded pretty grim.

Sighing heavily, Sally picked up NICOLE once again.

"NICOLE," she began, "search for-"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Sally," NICOLE interrupted, "but I have already searched through the files of your friends prior to you meeting them."

"NICOLE?" Sally asked confused by her computer's action.

"The news to finding them in their organic forms is bleak."

"NICOLE, are you saying that everyone is-"

"Robotized," was 'her' reply, 'her' tone devoid of any emotion.

Silence greeted them once again. The news now sounded like they would never see their loved ones again until after they finally retake their former city. Sally gazed at each of her comrades carefully eyeing the emotions etched on their faces.

Sonic, whom she noticed, had his feet on the ground again, was trying to hold back the sadness he felt for his friends. Only a few tears seemed to escape from his eyes and he rarely shed any tears these days. Sally knew that he does not remember his parents since they gave their lives during the Great War- he was only an infant at the time. His uncle was the only family he has left and his fate was already known to them.

Bunnie could be seen sobbing heavily into her paws (both organic and artificial). She took a lacey pawkerchief gave to her by Antoine and blew heavily in to it- honking loudly. When they were younger, Bunnie's parents helped train Sally in the arts of self-defense and that was how she first met their daughter.

Antoine, who had been trying his best not to stain his uniform any further, had forgone trying to keep it clean- blowing his nose into one of his sleeves. His mother, widowed after the Great War, was his only family since his father, a famed general, gave his life serving his fellow Mobians.

Ari, Sally noticed, seem much more composed then the rest of them, and she could not figure out why he seemed like that. She knew very little about his past except for leading his own Freedom Fighter group prior to loosing them at the hands of Robotnik.

Rotor was also sobbing loudly, blowing his nose with a grease-stained rag. It was unclear whether he knew about it or not, and Sally knew that he only had his father, a veteran of the Great War, as his only family.

Lastly, her eyes rested on Tails- who could be seen resting his head on his crossed paws.

"Tails!" she said mentally chastised herself.

How could she forget about him? She knew that he had no memory of his last name nor did she think about his wellbeing after this mission. She approached him but abruptly stopped short not knowing what to say. How could she explain the news to him that without his surname; they could not help him find his parents or any other relations?

"Tails," she said softly, putting a paw around him hugging him. "I wish we can help you."

Tails did not say anything nor acknowledge her presence.

"I'm sure you'll remember eventually."

Sally abruptly regretted saying that to him. He never really talked about his parents and she could only guess that the trauma of being separated by them affected him more than she had previously thought.

"'Aunt' Sally," he said softly, lifting his head off of his paws.

"Hmm?"

Tails took a deep breath and sighed rigidly. Bunnie's words continued to ring in his head and he decided, out of necessity, to heed them. They were starting eat him from the inside out to the point of becoming unbearable!

"I-I-I," he stuttered before regaining his composure, "I lied about not knowing my last name."

"Lied," she repeated, confused why he would do that. "Why would you lie?"

He gazed at her with sorrowful eyes- his eyes glossed over with tears. Tails did not want to tell her since Sonic, when he was found by him, made a rude comment about his name, but the prospect of finding out if his parents were still free outweighed the pain of the memory.

"Prower," he spoke in no more than a whisper.

Sally repeated the name repeatedly in thought trying to figure out why he would keep it a secret for so long. She then finally arrived to the reason he had kept quiet for so long; his name was a pun on the word 'miles per hour.' If the situation were different, she might have chuckled at the pun at first but the given situation forced her to not laugh at the pun.

The name also struck a chord with her; it had appeared countless times in the history books she had read in the past. Of all of the Mobians associated with the name, most were prominent military leaders.

"Do you remember your father's name?" she asked him in a whisper.

Tails looked at his surrogate aunt with eyes still glossed over with tears- they were now starting to stream down his muzzle. He sniffled slightly and gave a single nod.

"Amadeus," was his answer through a single sob.

Sally quickly turned her attention back to her portable computer, "NICOLE, what was the last name you tried to download."

The levelness of her tone seemed to bring everyone out of their depression.

"Hey, Sal?" Sonic asked. "What are you doing?"

She ignored him as NICOLE gave 'her' reply, "Last file that was in the process of being downloaded was the file 'Quark.'"

Sally blinked in confusion at the reply, "How-"

"I have taken the liberty," NICOLE interrupted, "to download the files of all your friends and allies first prior to downloading the Citizenry List."

"Okay," Sonic said slowly, not understanding the technobabble sprouting out of Sally's computer. "What are you asking NICOLE for?" he asked with his attention turned to Sally.

The squirrel saw that each of her friends were now eyeing her with confusion and she could not blame them. She knew that saying that Tails knew his surname all along, but kept it secret, was going to be a bombshell. She took a deep breath and hoped for the better for her surrogate nephew.

"It appears," she began, "that Tails has kept silent about knowing his last name."

There was soon an outburst of confusion amongst her friends and she took another breath before turning her attention back to NICOLE.

"NICOLE, search for all and immediate family related to one Amadeus Prower."

"Searching," was the computer's reply.

Tails pulled his paws underneath the table and crossed his digits- hoping they would bring him luck in his time of need. His breathing, slow and rigid, as he tried to keep himself from bursting into tears. He could barely remember his mother's face and their voices had escaped him due to years of separation.

"Two files found," NICOLE's digital voice chimed breaking the silence around the table.

"Just two?" Sally asked slightly confused- she had hoped that there would be more.

"Just two of interest."

She sighed heavily and silently prayed- for the young pup's sake- that the news was good.

"Display," Sally replied with confidence in her voice, but on the inside- she had butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

The portable computer showed 'her' findings via a holographic image. Two profiles appeared and Sally made a mental note to share that information with Tails later. She also dreaded they were captured and this would demoralize the pup even more. Her eyes scanned the end of the profile and her eyes widened with shock. Sally slightly chocked on her breath while she took an involuntary step backwards blinking to clear her eyes hoping that she was not hallucinating.

"Hey, Sal," Sonic's voice rang. "Are you feeling alright?"

"_Oui_," Antoine agreed, "your face is as white as a sheep."

"I'm fine, Antoine," Sally answered closing her eyes trying to recollect her thoughts at what she had seen.

"You sure, Sally-Girl?" Bunnie asked as she returned Antoine's pawkerchief back.

"Yes, Bunnie, I'm fine."

Sally opened her eyes again and she was glad that she is seeing the same words on the status of Tails' parents as before.

"They're alive," she spoke in a low whisper.

Tails ears twitched at her statement and let out a confused "huh?".

"They're alive!" she repeated louder- her voice on the brink of being ecstatic- as this was the first piece of good news they have heard since they had returned from their earlier mission and since the downfall of Mobotropolis.

* * *

**Post Author's Note:**_ How is it coming thus far? Is everyone still in character even though (as the old saying goes) "war changes people?"_

_Reviews are much appreciated. Let's keep those Freedom Fighting spirits alive!_

_Gryffindor-Sword, Long Time SatAM fan, falling out!_


	4. The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**_ I'm a day early, but I just received some sad news concerning SatAM. Ben Hurst, writer and idea man of Season 3, had passed away 2 weeks ago. A member of the SMS Boards received a late phone call due to not recognizing the number of this really sad news. This was also confirmed on the FUS website. We may never see a revival of SatAM in the public eye but the fandom will continue to live on and **THIS** one will not be halted due to such said news._

_I, with a heavy heart, deticate this chapter to him and as well as the rest of this 'fic in his honor. Farewell _mon ami _and may you forever rest in peace._

A Haiku in his honor

Sleep well, _Mon Ami  
_A Way Past Cool trip's ahead  
_Bon Voyage_, My Friend

by Gryffindor-Sword (August 31, 2010)

* * *

Chapter Four

"_The Calm Before the Storm_"

Three days had passed and Knothole seemed more quiet and subdued than usual- not even one of Dulcy's zero-point landings seemed to shake the mood of the village. The majority of the populace deemed the mission a minor success, but the rumor that a prominent military leader was still free seemed to lift their spirits.

"He's a tough soldier," Porker Lewis, the local chef and co-proprietor of Sonic's former haunt- a chilidog stand- once told Sally. "It's going to take more than an invasion to bring him down."

"He has survived more scrapes than I can count," Ari had told Sally the other day, "and he has been reported KIA in many of them."

Ari, Sally later found out, had enlisted during the Great War after lying about his age when he was seventeen. She asked him what possessed him to do such a thing and his reply was 'for being young and reckless.' Thankfully his lie was not found out until after the War was over by his then commanding officer- who was incidentally Tails' father, Amadeus- and luckily Ari was not issued a court martial for his misconduct partly due to his exemplary track record during his tour of duty.

Sally did share the information that they have gathered on Tails' parents, and he was happy to hear more about them- even though they were still considered missing. His mother, Rosemary, was a well-known author whose repertoire included: romance novels, adventure stories, children stories, and a few fur-raising horror stories. Tails, Sally noticed, had been more subdued and withdrawn since they had returned as he had been neglecting his chores and a few other duties that he had been scheduled to do.

"Tea for your thoughts, Sally?"

Sally- who had been so enthralled in her own thoughts- that she had jumped at the sound of the voice. In front of her was a tea tray consisting of a kettle of tea and a few cups. The owner of the voice poured her a cup of tea and the faint aroma of mint tickled her nostrils.

"Thanks, Rosie," she greeted the voice with a faint smile.

Rosie, the nanny who had raised the then children Freedom Fighters, was always a welcomed source of knowledge for the squirrel princess. Dressed in a simple blue dress and sporting a red cape around her neck- she reminded Sally of the tutorial character of a fairytale with a lupine as the antagonist. Rosie poured herself a cup of tea and seated herself on the opposite side of Sally.

"I have never seen you this troubled since you last lost a few fellow Freedom Fighters," the woodchuck nanny observed as she sipped her tea, her bright orange eyes could recognize if one was distressed.

Sally shook her head slightly before she took a sip, "I hoped that we would have found out if any of the others had made it out during the Coup."

"There is something else bothering you and it is not this past mission."

Sally gave her former nanny a questioning look.

"I can read you like a book," Rosie continued setting her cup down. "Remember the last time we met in our former city during the Coup."

Realization dawned on Sally as she understood what Rosie had meant. Her nanny was talking about the time when she and Sonic journeyed back in time to stop the Coup from happening but that had failed. She was the only one to see through their deception without being told who they really were, and the only good thing was that she had requested, nay ordered, Rosie to stay in Knothole.

Sighing heavily, Sally set her cup of tea down, "I'm more worried that Tails would do something stupid since he knows that his parents are still out there, and he would go searching for them."

"Miles," Rosie began using the pup in question's real name, "is smarter than you give him credit for, and I know you remember the chess matches you have had with him."

A smile came across the princess' face for the first time this morning as she sipped her tea, "He has been one of the few to beat me in a game. Not even Rotor came close enough to beating me."

"I also recall the times he has beaten you two in a game of Go Fish, and we both know that game depends upon one's memory more than any known card game."

Sally chuckled at the memory as she recalled the young pup's wide smile as he bested them in the game. She recalled that Sonic had lost his temper in one of the games going as far as accusing the young vulpine of cheating, but, for some reason or another, he was outwitted by the pup with a few choice words leaving the hedgehog confused and still fuming.

The princess also recalled she 'almost' let Tails win in their first game of chess. Sally had allowed him to gain the upper hand before she pushed back; however, he had pushed back enough to gain a firmer grip to checkmate her king. She recalled that the game ended in a stalemate but their next game was a checkmate in favor of Tails.

"Are you sure that he won't go searching for them?"

"There are several things that I know about a Prower," the woodchuck listed each point with her digits to illustrate her point. "They will obey the orders they are given, and are _very_ dependable to have on your team. Selflessness, the love of a good challenge, a clever mind, and going above and beyond the call of duty are just a few of the characteristics that describe a Prower."

Sally took a few moments to recollect her thoughts after what Rosie had said. She knew Tails obeyed her orders- even if he complained about a few of them- and he was always eager to accept any new challenges given to him going as far as to exceed everyone's expectations. The princess also knew that he had a clever mind, and one that would need to be properly nurtured in order to reach its full potential.

Selflessness was another characteristic of Tails that even surprised her. Sally remembered the day that Bunnie was partially Robotized- she had isolated herself in her hut for days- and only came out after Tails tried to cheer her up. He had given her an tremendously large bouquet of her favorite flowers- much too big for the then eight year old pup to successfully hold in both of his paws- and his reward was a large, albeit bone crushing, hug from her. Sally, however, shook her head again pushing the thought to the back of her head, but she could not shake the feeling that Rosie could just be right about his aptitude.

"Mornin' all," Ari's gruff voice shook the squirrel from her thoughts.

"Morning, Ari. Tea?" Rosie greeted him while gesturing to the teakettle.

"Sure," he said as he sat down while Rosie poured him a cup. "I've always loved your herbal tea, Rosie," he continued as he allowed the aroma to tickle his nose.

"I have to confess that it actually is a recipe given to me by a friend."

"Your friend does make a good cup of tea," he replied taking a sip.

"I will make sure they know that you like it and if you all excuse me," Rosie said as she collected the tea tray. "I need to see if Miles is awake since I am sure that he'll like a cup or two."

As Rosie left Sally, unconsciously, returned back to her thoughts about Tails. She could not picture him in a uniform similar to the one Antoine- out of respect of his father- wore. She knew that the pup was not of her blood, but she felt a sort of kinship with him since they were both separated from the ones they loved at a very young age.

"What's on our agenda today, Sally?" Ari's voice once again brought her out of her stupor.

"Oh, uh," she replied slightly confused as she picked up her cup of tea once again. "We need to, uh, prepare for another, uh, mission."

"You don't know," his question was a statement. "I don't blame you for being surprised. I'm surprised that midget of a lackey survived the destruction of the Doomsday Project."

Sighing, Sally took another sip of her tea, "You're right. I am surprised that he survived the destruction, and I should have thought through all of the possibilities."

"None of us can predict the future," he continued, shaking his head before he finished his tea. "Not even the greatest military leader is immune to mistakes that could cost lives. Heck, even I made the mistake in trusting Robotnik with the lives of my friends," his tone became dark as he remembered and _deeply_ regretted ever trusting the Usurper to the Crown in keeping his word.

A faint smile came across the squirrel princess' lips, "You're right, Ari. I shouldn't dwell on the past; I should be thinking about our next missions to bring down Snively."

"That's the spirit," Ari said raising his cup, smiling.

"Mornin', y'all," Bunnie's cheerful voice greeted them.

They returned her greeting just as she sat down when Rosie returned with Tails in tow.

"Now Miles," they heard Rosie chastise the pup, "it is not healthy for a growing pup as yourself to be staying up late."

Sally heard him mutter something that sounded like a 'yes, ma'am' under his breath. She noted that his eyelids were heavy and he had a severe case of bed fur. It did appear that Rosie was right about him staying up late the previous night, and she (and Rosie) hoped that he would not make a habit of it.

"Another cup of tea if you please, Rosie," Ari said breaking the now awkward silence.

"Sure, Ari," Rosie replied as she poured Bunnie and Tails, who promptly pushed his cup away from him, their cups of tea before refilling Ari's cup.

Tails excused himself as he slouched off while stumbling like a child who made themselves dizzy for fun. Normally, he would be more cheerful than this, but the result of the past mission had led him to his current demeanor. His parents were out there- he knew it- but he did not know where to start looking for them.

"You'll be safe there," a ghostly, yet familiar, voice echoed in his head.

Tails scowled at the feminine sounding voice as he looked around at his surroundings that he called home. A part of him wanted to leave the safe haven and go looking for them, but- like the flip of a coin- another part of him urged him to stay put. For now, he decided to stay put and hoped that the rumors he had heard about his dad surviving near death experiences were true.

* * *

Meanwhile at the North Ridge, the scheduled lookout team was on duty. Their post was up a large, aged tree with a spiraling staircase ending is a platform just below where the trunk branched off towards the sky. Sonic and, much to his disgust, Antoine were on duty. Sonic normally did not like Antoine to be on lookout duty- let _alone_ work with him- since he had been known to fall asleep while on duty whether it was morning, midday, or night.

They peered through their binoculars as they scanned their surroundings looking out for anything or anyone foreign coming towards Knothole. Their binoculars had a built in rangefinder with a maximum range of two miles and a built in infrared scanner for the twilight shifts.

Yawning loudly, Sonic stretched as he groaned, "Bor-ring!" he complained to nobody in particular. "How are you holding up, Ant?" Sonic asked his companion with a push on his shoulder.

The tail-less coyote rubbed his nose since he was looking out of his binoculars when he was pushed.

"Can't you be taking this job more seriously, you fuel!" Antoine angrily snapped at his spiny companion.

"I'm joking, Ant!" Sonic replied, laughing. "Even this Hedgehog knows when to have a little downtime."

Antoine snorted at this statement, which went unnoticed by his spiny companion, as he continued to do the duty that he was assigned to- even if he hated being paired with the speedy 'fuel.' He also knew that Sonic was contradicting himself as- he always pointed out during his youth- he was built for speed and needed to keep moving. The tail-less coyote surveyed his surroundings again but found nothing of interest- except the occasional non-sentient fauna scurrying on the forest floor.

Another hour had passed- with the occasional loud, rude yawn by Sonic- until Antoine spotted sentient beings through his binoculars. He noticed at least six Mobians heading their way and a few of them he knew from a prior mission. They all had various degrees of injuries- like they had survived a horrific battle.

"Soneec," Antoine whispered, pointing in the direction he was facing, "I am seeing something coming thiz way."

Sonic looked in the direction his Delmontian companion pointed and his eyes widened as he muttered a 'Not cool. Mondo not cool.' under his breath.

"I'm heading out to help them, Ant!" he announced as he prepared to speed off and toss his binoculars towards Antoine.

"W-w-wait, Soneec," Antoine stuttered out, placing a paw on his friend's shoulder before he could speed off. "Zee princezz must being told of thiz."

Sonic blinked for a few seconds at the suggestion.

"You're right, Ant," he agreed. "I'll juice back to Knothole before heading out to help, and I need you to keep on lookout until I get back."

Antoine nodded and the hedgehog quickly sprinted away- ruffling the coyote's attire and fur in the process but he did not care at the moment. A mask of determination came across his face as his posture became dignified as years of prior squire training came back to him. He returned his gaze at the six Mobians coming towards Knothole silently hoping that they would recover from their injuries. A few seconds later, Antoine heard Sonic streak by below him and towards the direction of the spotted wounded.

* * *

Deeper in the Great Forest, the six wounded hobbled as best they could despite their injuries. They panted heavily while a few stifled groans escaped from their throats.

A large, gray rhino with broad shoulders and bluish eyes limped on his right hoof as he clutched his left shoulder. He wore blue shoulder pads and a belt slung over his left shoulder containing his rucksack. His hide was stained with burn marks and his pristine horn was chipped at the tip and near the base.

Next to him was a large, brown bear with graying eyes. He had a barrel chest and he too carried a heavy limp. He wore a pair of black suspenders attached to a black belt containing various pouches along it. Several burn marks were on his body as well as bare patches of fur, and his fur carried a burning stench.

Leaning on the bear for support was a tall, gray lupine. She had a long scar just underneath her left eye stretching to the end of her cheek. She had blue eyes and her long black hair was pulled back into a long tress. The lupine also wore simple blue one piece garment that was stained with dried soil, and her muzzle was bandaged shut- as if it were broken.

Slightly in front of them was a short, brown goat with various cuts and bruises that appeared to have just recently healed. His left horn was missing and his right one was cut at an upward angle from the base. In his hooves- as if his life depended on it- was a small, hastily wrapped parcel. He too was limping and his abdomen was wrapped with bandages.

Behind the large pair was a short yellow, blue eyed duck. He wore a tan medical uniform one would see in the military. In his right wing, he carried a black medical bag and he looked far better than his wounded companions. If one would look closely inside his uniform- one would see a holster housing the service blaster issued to him when he joined the army.

The last of the group was a black skunk wearing a well pressed- albeit tattered- blue military uniform. His right paw had a purple glove and a crossbow mounted on the wrist. A purple bandolier was thrown over his left shoulder and a purple belt around his waist. A tattered and patched purple beret decorated his head and he seemed to have not suffered any injuries; except for the occasional limp and groan that might escape from him.

Several long and agonizing minutes later, the goat leading them collapsed forward in pain. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back still clutching his parcel.

"Are you alright, Griff?" the rhino asked- his voice thick from lack of thirst- as he knelled on the ground, groaning in pain as he did.

"My side," Griff groaned.

"I think his stitches came undone," the rhino replied, checking his companion's side.

Sighing heavily, the web-footed doctor approached the pair.

"I was afraid of this," he replied- it sounded like he was quacking instead of speaking.

Just as he was checking Griff's vitals; the bear spoke.

"You hear something, Lupe?" he scratchily voiced.

Lupe- using sign language since her jaw was bandaged shut- pointed to her right ear then pointed down the path they were traveling. In the distance there was a looming dust cloud heading in their direction.

"What the heck is that?" the skunk inquired- his accent seemed to be relative to a region near the Delmont Province.

"They spotted us," the rhino replied, smiling.

"Who?"

"They spotted us," he repeated. "Knothole has spotted us," waving a hoof in the air in order to get the dust cloud creator's attention.

The dust storm's creator came to a stop in front of them revealing a blue, rather young looking, Mobian hedgehog. He surveyed the small group and spotted a grounded and groaning Griff.

"Griff!" he exclaimed, rushing toward him. "What happened?"

Griff groaned in pain again but the duck answered for him.

"He overexerted himself and is showing moderated to severe signs of dehydration," his tone was calm and under control as he checked his patient's pupils.

"Not cool," the hedgehog breathed, shaking his head. "What can I do?"

"What he needs is immediate medical attention and I'm short on supplies as it is!" the doctor answered, albeit more sternly then he intended. "It may take us until sunset or midmorning the next day just to reach Knothole even with the injuries we have!"

"Hey, no problem," the spiny Mobian answered. "I have help waiting to come."

He walked a short distance from them and waved his paws in the air before giving a double thumbs up.

* * *

Off in the distance, his uniform wearing companion got the signal. With a quick salute he called over the edge to two of his companions.

"I am having Soneec's signal."

"Roger, Sugah," Bunnie replied from her place on Dulcy's back.

"We'll be back shortly, Tony," Dulcy replied, flapping her wings taking off towards where Sonic was.

* * *

The hedgehog turned back towards his injured companions knowing that his friends have already gotten his signal. His grin was replaced with concern.

"What happened?" he asked again.

"They came out of nowhere," the bear answered, grimly shaking his head. "Griff came to my village in the condition you see him in, Sonic. I don't know what's in that parcel but he mumbled something saying that you gave it to him."

At the bear's mention of the parcel brought back a memory when he and his fellow friends first met Griff. He had used his new friendship to learn more about the Power Rings and how they were made. In the middle of the night, Griff had stolen the Power Stone in order to use it to save his home, Lower Mobius.

Lower Mobius, hidden underneath their former city, was a safe haven for those who had escaped the initial destruction of Mobotropolis. Their situation was dire when Sonic and a few of his friends first came there; the power source they were using was failing and they needed another one or they would surely parish.

Sonic eventually caught up with Griff and asked why he would take the Power Stone. Unfortunately, a pack of oversized mechanical rats broke through the haven's defenses and began attacking. He saved Lower Mobius and offered to split the Stone in half so Lower Mobius could have power while Sonic took the other half back to Knothole.

"We think," the duck said as he checked Griff's pulse, "Griff unknowingly led them to our hideaways and subsequently led them to our meeting here."

Sonic opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a droning of 'Hedgehog Alert! Priority One!'

Yelling in surprise, Sonic ducked the laser blasts while the rest of his companions dove for cover- the duck and skunk each dragged Griff by the shoulders. As he dodged he saw where they were coming from but at the same time there was nothing there- as if they were appearing out of nowhere.

"That hedgehog is going to get himself killed," the skunk whispered incredulously from a thick brush- he did not think anyone was brazen or foolish enough to face foes they could not see.

"Robotnik has those things programmed to go after him on sight," the bear replied from behind a tree. "A flaw that he and his companions have used on more then one occasion."

The skunk shook his head not believing a word as Sonic charged towards one of the invisible attackers- a loud clunk confirmed that it was hit- but had to retreat after getting tagged a few times by laser blasts. His jaw dropped at the display he was witnessing. In all of his years of combat experience, he had _never_ seen one move that fast and his reflexes seemed unimaginable.

"We have to do something," the rhino whispered from the other side of the tree the bear was hiding.

"Like what, Palo?" the bear asked. "We're in no condition to help and you're recovering from a concussion."

Palo rubbed his head and turned to the duck doctor, "Can your blaster help us out here, Doc?"

The doctor was in the process of checking his blaster's power cell when the question was asked. He replaced the cell into the grip of it and cocked the blaster with his right wing to activate the power cell.

"It's low on power and yes it can take them down. Geoffrey," he indicated the skunk- who was loading up his crossbow- "is low on arrows and we need to end this quickly before more decide to show up."

He carefully aimed at a spot where the blasts were materializing and fired a single shot. A loud clunk was heard and the invisible became visible as the automation fell to the ground deactivated with a fist-sized hole in its chest.

Sonic saw the droid drop but he continued to focus on his surroundings as he continued to dodge his invisible foes' attacks. His quills were now loose, partly due to perspiration (and the lack of his quill gel), and they were getting into his face further hindering his actions.

Geoffrey used one of his electric current generating arrows and fired on at a spot behind the dodging hedgehog knocking it out.

Several long minutes later, all of the invisible automations were- only after Lupe's confirmation- defeated.

"Are you alright, Sonic?" the bear asked.

"I'm fine, Dirk," he replied as he tried to pull his quills back into place but failed as they came tumbling untidily all over his head.

A large shadow began to circle around them overhead and a smile came across Sonic's face as everyone looked up. He whistled and waved a paw in the air, "Hey, Dulce! Down here!"

The large shadow turned out to be a large scaly dragon with a passenger in tow landing on the beaten path they had been traveling on.

"What the heck happened here?" the passenger, a Mobian half-cybernetic rabbit asked.

"Some invisible Butt-bots, Bunnie," the hedgehog replied, kicking one of the disabled automations.

"Why don't y'all get on Dulcy so we can get the who-ha outta here?" Bunnie suggested as she gestured to the dragon.

The wounded nodded as they approached the kneeling giant (with Dirk carrying a barely conscious Griff) all but Geoffrey- he seemed reluctant to travel on a creature he had never seen.

"I-I-I-I," he stuttered, "rather walk than ride on that _thing_."

Dulcy snorted as smoke came out of her nostrils and her eyes narrowed in anger. The nerve of him to call her 'that thing!' Bunnie spoke before the now angry dragon could retort.

"Yeh can always ride with, Sugah-Hog," she suggested pointing to Sonic.

Geoffrey turned towards the hedgehog- who was currently in the process of fixing his quills back to the way they were with a collapsible comb from his glove. Sonic fixed his quilldo but it, comically, came undone and into his face once again. Groaning in frustration, he tried again in a futile attempt to fix it.

"I would highly suggest against that option," the Doc chimed in and continued as he saw the skunk open his mouth to speak. "You're recovering from a mild concussion and a hit to the back from that falling beam. Now get on our transport before I force you!" his tone became a near snarl.

Geoffrey reluctantly complied with the order as the Doc's attention turned back to the last of his new companions.

"What about the two of you? I don't think she'll be able to carry all of us."

"Don't worry, Sugah," Bunnie said waving off his concern with her organic limb. "I'll take the ground with Sonic."

He turned his attention to the hedgehog- who was _still_ trying to fix his quills- and nodded his head.

"Well, I'll see the two of you back in Knothole."

He walked towards Dulcy only stopping long enough to retrieve his medical bag and climbed into the dragon's pouch with Geoffrey. Dulcy spread her wings and took off carefully with Griff cradled in her claws and three on her back.

"Let's mosey on and juice outta here, Sugah-Hog," Bunnie suggested as she saw Sonic surrender his battle with his quills and returned his comb back into his glove. She wrapped her paws around his shoulders and he jetted off muttering something about fixing his quills.

* * *

"Hold still, Griff!" the Doc instructed as he continued to re-stitch the left side of the goat.

A low groan escaped from the patient's lips as he tried to steady his breathing so the doctor could work. Minutes later, the doctor finished his job and re-bandaged Griff's side.

"What's the prognosis, Dr. Quack?" Sally asked- desperate for answers to her friends' conditions.

She was utterly shocked at what had happened in the past few days leading up to her other Freedom Fighting friends ending up severely injured in Knothole. First, Lupe lost her Wolf Pack to some unseen enemies then Griff came stumbling into Palo's hideout barely surviving the carnage of Lower Mobius. Then his and Dirk's places were hit by the same individuals who terrorized Lupe and Griff. Now their numbers have severely dwindled and Sally hoped that they can survive this new threat without any more losses.

Sighing heavily while removing his stained gloves, he answered- pointing out each of his patients' injuries: "Palo is suffering from mild laser burns and a chipped horn plus he is recovering from a moderate concussion and a few minor contusions to his body. The horn I'm unable to repair at the moment. Dirk has only a few bald patches and a few burns to his body plus minor bruised muscles."

He took a moment to consult his patient records before continuing.

"Lupe has a broken jaw that I'm unable to repair without the necessary supplies," he shook his head slightly as he pinched the bridge of his bill. "Griff has a severe laceration to his left side and I had to remove the rest of his right horn since it was already loose. And as for Geoffrey…"

His gaze turned to the last of his patients as he tried to fight tooth and claw as he tried to get out of the grips of the volunteer nurses. The skunk protested repeatedly stating that he 'didn't need any medical treatment.'

"Settle down, Sugah," Bunnie ordered- forcing her way to the patient's bed pinning him down with the palm of her robotic paw.

Geoffrey was slowly becoming aware of the strength that this half-machine of a rabbit possessed and he would later find out that she was not using her full strength to keep him pinned to the bed.

"As for Geoffrey," Dr. Quack's voice raised, "he has suffered from a mild concussion and a possible injured back due to a falling beam."

He consulted his notes once again before continuing, "All patients except for Geoffrey are suffering from mild to severe dehydration."

"Did Sonic stop by?" Sally inquired- she had heard of his run-in with these new stealthy SWAT-bots.

"Only a few burns. Nothing a little ointment couldn't take care of," Dr. Quack replied, setting his notes down on a nearby table.

"Is there anything else that you need, Dr. Quack?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Not at this time except for the supplies that I requested, but I would like to have a private word with you later today sometime."

"I'm free for the day if you need me, Doctor."

"If I may see you immediately, Princess, since it concerns an individual whom you helped care for since they had been a pup."

Dr. Quack's coded message had the princess' eyes widen like saucers, and she asked him to come with her immediately. He collected a small decorated wooden box from his medical bag and followed Sally out. The Doc's last request was for Bunnie to keep an eye on Geoffrey since he had a tendency to skimp off medical treatment which would eventually lead to his injuries becoming worse. Geoffrey's protests continued to be heard as they left the Medical Hut.

Sally led Dr. Quack to the Mess Hut near the center of Knothole and sat opposite of him carrying the look of a mother protecting her cub from danger.

"What do you need to see Miles about?" she asked- using Tails' given name instead of his moniker.

Clearing his throat, Dr. Quack placed the wooden box he had been carrying between them. Sally could see that a coat of arms decorated the top of the elaborately carved box, and the doctor would have to tread carefully since he had heard how protective she was over the pup in question.

"Two days ago- when the village I was living at was attacked- his parents asked me to give this to him when I see him. The contents of the box are for his eyes only."

The squirrel's eyes widened in shock at the news and her breathing hitched slightly.

"Why didn't they come with you?" she asked in the calmest voice she could muster; even though she was shocked on the inside.

"They had their paws full," he replied, shaking his head and frowning slightly, "because-"

* * *

"- they were being chased by a rogue SWAT-bot that seemed to have the ability to repair itself."

Sally ended the tale Dr. Quack had told her to Tails. She noted that he had tears streaming down his muzzle and he clutched the box close to his heart. She gave him the funny kiss- hoping to perk him up a bit- and said, "When you're ready to talk; I'll be waiting for you."

Knowing that he needed some time alone, she left the hut leaving a tearful Tails crying tears of joy behind. As she closed the door, the tears she was fighting back came flooding down her face. Sally rushed back to her hut and just barely closing her door when the floodgates opened in her eyes. She feared that this would be the last of the news that they would hear from Tails' parents, and the next time they might not be so lucky to make it out alive.

Strangely, telling Tails the state of his parents reminded her of how much she missed her own. Her father was stuck in a virtually inescapable prison and her mother, whom had passed when she was three due to illness. Sally still remembered her mother's last words before the life within her left: 'Rule With Honor.' Her parting words also matched the motto on her family's coat of arms, and those have been the words she lived by when she and her friends (minus Tails at the time) became Freedom Fighters.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Robotropolis, Snively was reviewing the last transmissions of his new Stealth SWAT-bots or Stealth-bots for short. He was pleased that they had been able to keep the hedgehog off balanced and were able to strike a fatal blow to the moral of the Freedom Fighters. However, what concerned him the most was an old and battered SWAT-bot that seemed to have gone rouge. The midget tried to get this individual back under control, but it seemed to have gained an upgrade to its artificial intelligence and this concerned him the most. One of the biggest fears his uncle had (no matter how much he refused to admit) was having his own creations betraying him. For now, he would watch for the rouge and push the production of his new Stealth-bots forward.

He let out a loud cackle but yelped in fright as a cold palm was placed on his shoulder, "I wish you would stop doing that," he said dryly, not sparing a glance at his visitor.

The owner of the palm spoke hoarsely; much like an individual whose Thread of Life was about to be cut, wheezing every now and then, "We must… push our plans forward… immediately."

* * *

**Post Author's Note:**_ Sad isn't it that this chapter has tragedy on a day I received the sad news? Well now we have old allies returning, two new ones enter the fold, and kindly Rosie makes her return. I may say this more than once, but any character from another Sonic 'universe' will have the following changed to suit my needs: appearance/attire, personality, and/or age. Attire will be a big thing since I see clothing on a Mobian as mere decoration rather to cover up (Bunnie is excluded from this due to unforeseen circumstances). I hope I don't start turning any readers off by adding characters from the other 'universes' but there are some that I see actually fitting into this series._

_Reviews are much appreciated and let's keep those Freedom Fighter spirits alive!_

_Gryffindor-Sword, long time SatAM fan, falling out!_


	5. Soldier Anecdotes

**Author's Note:**_ Sorry it took so long to update but life got in my way leaving me with no time to finish proofreading this chapter. Now I finially finished and please enjoy this chapter. It may be a bit slow paced but this was my intention to have a little downtime for our heroes in between missions and to show what I think life is like in Knothole._

_Enough of my chitchatting, on with the chapter!_

* * *

Chapter Five

"_Soldier Anecdotes_"

"Give it up Pup! War is not for kids like you!"

That was the voice that had plagued Tails all day since he had left his hut for the first time in six days. The voice belonged to Geoffrey and Tails was starting to dislike the prideful skunk by the second. He had heard him repeatedly insult most of his friends by calling them rank amateurs, and he continuously butted heads with Sonic.

"Don't listen to him, Tails!" Ari's voice interrupted the pup's train of thought. "You've done much more than him," a scoff could be heard from Geoffrey. "Remember all the training you have done and that plan you made at Drood Hendge."

Geoffrey's harsh laugh came from under the shade of a nearby tree, "I doubt that he could come up with a plan like that, and- if he was under my training regiment- he would not last five minutes!"

A low growl emanated from the ram's throat but he shook his head before replying in an even tone at the arrogant skunk, "Maybe you should get to know him before you make such poor accusations. Plus," a slight smirk came across his lips, "he has an ability that none of his species can do."

"Oh yes," Geoffrey nodded slightly, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "his ability to fly. I find it only- in his case- useful for reconnaissance. That dragon on the other paw can also be used for transport."

Tails was boiling over with anger inside. He never liked being teased, and this prideful jerk was taking it a bit too far. The pup had earlier heard Sally reprimanding the skunk to stop berating the others' ages and lack of certain abilities. That made him a little happier, but that did not stop the jerk from berating them behind her back.

"Let's go, Tails," Ari suggested as he gently pulled him to his feet. "We'll tackle that obstacle another time and _hopefully_ without that heckler."

The pup took one last look at the obstacle that he was suppose to go through. It consisted of three logs that he was suppose to jump, duck, and jump over. That was just one obstacle from the extensive course, commissioned by Geoffrey, hastily put together and updated obstacles from their previous one just two days ago.

Geoffrey left the obstacle course a few moments later following them at a distance mentally prepared himself for the tongue-lashing he was about to receive from a soon-to-be irritated royal squirrel. He could not be more then right.

* * *

"I can't believe you, Geoffrey! He's just a child!"

That was the voice that echoed through the now silent War Alcove. An extremely displeased royal berated one of her 'soldiers' after learning what had transpired only moments ago.

The receiver of her tirade stood at attention with his shoulders back and eyes forward; much like a soldier being scolded by a superior for their insubordination to a direct order.

"I allowed the obstacle course be updated since I halfheartedly agreed with you that we needed it to be," Sally continued, walking away from him before turning back and approached him until she was almost nose-to-nose with him, "but berating a child like you were is not what I want in Knothole!"

"It builds character," Geoffrey argued.

"_Character_!" she screeched. "He's just a child!"

"Ask Sgt. Ram over there," he indicated with his head. "He will tell you how it was for him during his training days."

The royal squirrel turned towards the veteran soldier with anger still visible in her eyes. She silently hoped that this was not how training was done in the military with the building of character through berating.

Sgt. Ari Ram sighed heavily from his stance, leaning against a wall with crossed hooves, since he was in quiet the predicament. Any agreement with either side would surely end up with the other turning on him.

"I have to agree with Geoffrey on the point of building character. I've been through several cycles of training which included: physical torture, mental preparation, and constant berating from my drill instructor which did include some foul language. However," he continued as Sally opened her mouth to protest, "I have to agree with you, Sally, on the point of not berating a mere child just because of his age."

A smirk came across the ram's lips as he saw an eye twitch on the skunk's face when the Princess' gaze was away from him. One thing he knew about Geoffrey was that he was a stickler to the rules (much like Antoine with his cooking), and anyone who would treat a royal as an equal was open to confrontation.

"Are we interrupting anything?" a deep voice asked from the doorway.

All eyes turned towards the door to see Sonic, Dirk, and Palo.

"No," Sally replied with her anger now gone. "Did you meet up with Uncle Chuck?"

"We did," Dirk replied, nodding.

Sally nodded her head as she turned to the previous duo, her anger back, "I'll speak to you two later about this. Now, if you excuse me, I have a debriefing to do."

"As you wish, Princess," Geoffrey said bowing while Ari inclined his head slightly.

The pair left the Alcove not speaking to one another, and Ari did not want to argue with the 'wannabe' soldier anymore in fear of raising Sally's ire even more. Unfortunately, Geoffrey caught up to him before he could make himself scarce.

"What is with you, Ram?" the infuriated skunk asked catching up with Ari. "How _dare_ you insult the Princess like that?"

"What do you mean by insult?" Ari innocently questioned, stopping in his tracks.

"By calling her by her name! That is disrespectful and an insult to the Crown!"

The Great War veteran slowly turned towards Geoffrey, "She said herself that she does not want to be referred by her title in a time like this."

"That does not mean we cannot treat her as one."

"She does not wish to be treated as one," Ari repeated, "and what's with you berating our comrades."

"What's with me? What's with me?" he repeated, unknowingly drawing a crowd. "I'm surrounded by amateurs!"

"I see no amateurs," Ari replied, shaking his head. "The most recent 'amateur'- as you put it- that we had was recently promoted to a full-fledged Freedom Fighter."

"The progeny of a famous soldier does not a soldier make!" Geoffrey spat back.

"There are no amateurs in our ranks," the ram repeated.

"I still question our Princess' choice in help with rank amateurs," he grumbled.

"What's with you with 'rank amateurs' as of lately?"

"What's with me?" the skunk repeated, entering another tirade. "We have a hedgehog whose ego matches his impatience, a half-machine freak who can turn on us at any given minute, a coward who's a disgrace to the uniform he wears, a veteran who should have a court martial for his lie, a mechanic who hasn't thought of making blasters for us to use, a spy who's already a machine and could turn on us also, and, finally, a pup who should be on the sidelines while the professionals take over!"

"GEOFFREY!"

His jaw clenched at the tone of the voice and his head snapped in the direction of the source. Geoffrey was, once again, faced with the ire of royalty.

"My hut, right now!" she commanded, pointing in the direction of her hut.

The crossbow wielding soldier took one last glare at Ari before turning heel obeying Sally's order. A contented snort reverberated from Ari's nose as he watched the skunk leave just to receive another round of a banished princess' ire. He left the empting square to seek the shade of a nearby tree. As he walked, he spotted something orange and furry in the tree but Ari chose to ignore it.

Closing his eyes he allowed the sounds of nature to enter his ears as he leaned his back on the truck crossing his hooves. The sound of slow, steady breathing from above him came to his ears.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he asked the hidden being. After not getting a direct answer he continued, "Your twin appendages could be seen from were I was standing earlier."

About twenty seconds had passed before he received his answer in the voice of his young friend, "You saw me from there?"

Ari inclined his head slightly to find Tails seated on a limb several feet from where he was last spotted.

"Your stealth is admirable," a small smile came across the pup's face as the ram continued, "and I can't count the number of times that your father got the drop on me during some of our training simulations."

Ever since finding out that Tails was related by blood to his former commanding officer, the veteran took it upon himself to try to coax the young fox out of his hut. It only took Ari's mention of being under his father's command for the pup to bombard him with questions. He complied with a few stories of his father but kept the more grisly ones to himself- mainly due to not raising Sally's ire.

"As our heckler is away shall we play?" he quipped, knowing that Tails would catch on to the hidden meaning.

"You know it!" he readily agreed as he spun his twin appendages and took flight- his confidence renewed- in the direction of he obstacle course with Ari trotting up the rear.

* * *

Geoffrey stormed out of Sally's hut several minutes later after enduring his second tirade of the day.

"Friends since childhood my-" he muttered, spewing out a long list of vulgar language that would have Rosie scolding him if she had heard.

He just could not understand what she saw in them. Palo, Dirk, and Lupe ("Well," he thought, "Lupe is sidelined due to an injury,") had his respect already. In order to blow off his pent up steam, he decided to have a few runs of the obstacle course and to have some time to himself.

Much to his dismay, the walking court martial and pup had already claimed the course for the second time of the day. He watched with narrowed eyes as the pup tried and failed to pass the obstacle he had trouble with earlier.

"He is persistent; I will give him that," he admitted in thought as he saw Tails back up several feet to try again, "but no amount of persistence will help you out."

Geoffrey's eyes ever so slightly flinched as he saw the pup knock the wind out of himself on yet another failed attempt to pass the obstacle. He stood rooted to the spot as he shook his head as Ari helped Tails to a seated position.

"Stop coddling him, Ram," the skunk muttered. "A soldier should not be coddled for any reason at all."

A few minutes later, Tails regained his breath before he and Ari left the obstacle course leaving a viewing Geoffrey alone.

"Finally," he muttered, "some alone time."

The skunk began his stretching routine prior to his usual vigorous exercise programs. A sharp pain zipped down his spine just as he was stretching his arms; an action that caused him to cry out in pain, but he bit his tongue to stiffen the pain. Ignoring the pain, he continued to stretch until another sharper pain forced him to his knees. Rather risking fate thrice, Geoffrey reluctantly retreated back to Knothole for a much needed appointment with the Doc. It would later be a wonder how he was able to carry himself back to Knothole through the pain coursing down his spine before he finally collapsed at the edge of the village.

* * *

"I warned you to take it easy, Geoffrey, but no!" Dr. Quack reprimanded his patient. "You had to overexert yourself again, and you're just lucky you aren't paralyzed indefinitely! Now," the Doc said, after placing his patient into a back brace, "you are to stay in bed or I'll have my new orderly keep you in bed with those magnificent limbs of hers!"

The black fur on the skunk's face seemed to turn white as he paled at the threat. He would rather be trampled by a heard of Terrapods then to be pinned by a rabbit with unimaginable strength in her metallic limbs. Geoffrey nodded his head as much as his body would allow and did the last thing he wanted to do in an infirmary: sleep.

Dr. Quack ripped off his gloves in anger before he threw them into the bin and collapsed onto a nearby windowsill. An unknown amount of time passed before his stupor was interrupted by a paw being placed on his shoulder. He turned to see Lupe, dressed in a new tunic made by Rosie, holding a broom. The look in her face said one thing: 'What's wrong?'

Sighing heavily, the Doc answered, "Geoffrey is being a pain in the tail feathers again. I swear he's worse than his father."

An eyebrow arched on the lupine's face prompting the waterfowl to continue.

"His father, Ian, who I had the displeasure to work under, would do the exact same thing when it concerned his physical health. I recall the last time I worked on him was when an explosive took out a wall he was near rendering him unconscious for several days. He ended up being paralyzed for the rest of the War, and I hadn't kept in touch with him since I was reassigned to a new regiment. So I wouldn't know if he was still paralyzed when the war ended or not."

Lupe patted him on his shoulder as if to say 'Everything's going to be okay' before she continued to sweep out the Medical Hut. Dr. Quack's thoughts unconsciously returned to Geoffrey's condition which somehow mirrored his father's. The sounds of that day came to him just like the nightmares that continue to plague him to this day.

* * *

"Hold that line men!" Capt. Ian St. John barked over the sounds of the battle. "We must hold this line until Sgt. Doberman and First Lt. Prower can outflank them!"

An incendiary round exploded near the pinned unit as Dr. Quack- just fresh out of medical school- hunkered down with his wings over his head. Clutching a procured semi-automatic rifle from a downed comrade (his own service rifle was damaged during an earlier skirmish) he shot a volley of blaster fire at the advancing enemy. An enemy round hit the dirt in front of him forcing him to take cover and clear his eyes. At the same time Ian yelped in pain.

"Alright, Captain?" a canine comrade asked.

"I am fine!" Ian replied through gritted teeth, tossing the weapon into his other appendage. "Just hold that line!"

He cocked his weapon with his good appendage and let out a battle cry as he sprayed a volley of rounds at their enemy one-pawed. Dr. Quack knew that his commanding officer's shoulder was stunned due to the nature of their and the enemies' weapons. The doctor stood up again firing another volley at the enemy before three actions happened in quick succession just as they were fighting: an explosive hit behind a wall blowing debris at them knocking Ian out and two regiments of their allies managed to outflank the enemy.

Dr. Quack seemed to go deaf and forget his surroundings as his medical training overruled his commonsense. He rushed towards his commanding officer just as two of his comrades pulled him to the safety behind a barricade. The doctor checked his comrade-in-arms' condition to find that the had a huge gash on the back of his head and that a small trickle of blood was dripping out of his mouth.

* * *

The waterfowl shook his head trying to clear out the thoughts of the past war he had fought in as he turned back to face the room before him: Griff could be seen reading a book, Lupe was sweeping the room, and Geoffrey was either sleeping or- as he would put it- resting his eyes. Sighing heavily, Dr. Quack told Lupe to mind the infirmary until he returned from a much needed break and some fresh air.

A gentle breeze blew across the waterfowl's feathers inducing a small calming effect on him. The early evening's scene played out before him as the denizens of Knothole completed their activities before dusk set in: Ari could be seen doing chin-ups on a low hanging branch, Mrs. Opossum was collecting her dried laundry, Antoine helping Rosie with the evening's cooking, Sonic having a chat with the young monarch at the Mess Hut, Palo and Dirk were bringing in the evening's harvest, elderly Mr. and Mrs. Barkly rocking in their rocking chairs on their porch, and Bunnie was seen tutoring young Miles Prower in the skill of martial arts. With a deep breath through his nostrils, Dr. Quack stepped off the infirmary's small porch and onto the soft dirt to begin his stroll.

The first thing he had noticed since coming to Knothole was the absence of children at play. He had asked Princess Sally about this and was sadly told that Miles was the only child in Knothole. This saddened him greatly since the pup did not have anyone his own age to play with and this is was not exactly healthy for a child. Dr. Quack was primarily an expert in adult and pediatric medicine but he was no expert in child psychology. He knew enough to know that children needed peers their own age in order to grow up properly and learn how to cope with each other's differences.

A shiver went down the Doc's spine at the thought of children in danger. His own village lost all of their children when they were attacked, and he feared if most or all of the younger generation had been caught by those former peace officers turned treacherous single-minded guards since the Coup. Dr. Quack hoped and prayed that a few if not most had made it out safely along with anyone else who were still considered missing. He knew deep down that children as well as adults will be affect by this war for many years to come.

The sound of the dinner bell ringing from the Mess Hut brought him out of his stupor, and he made his way there before he would later go to the meeting that Princess Sally had asked him to come join.

* * *

Sally was shortly about to call the meeting to order when she was interrupted by the War Alcove's door slamming open. In the threshold stood Geoffrey straddling the entrance and he had removed the back brace placed on him earlier.

"Geoffrey," Sally began, quickly noting that he was up and about, "I thought Dr. Quack had you confined to a bed until you recovered?"

"With all due respect, Princess," Geoffrey said, ignoring his pain, "but I would like to sit in on this meeting."

"Did Dr. Quack give you his consent to leave?"

"No, he did not," he replied, gritting his teeth. "I am fine."

He took a step forward but his outstretched leg gave out from underneath him. The skunk, unceremoniously, slammed onto the wooden floor face first… hard! Sally sighed heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose while those close by helped Geoffrey onto his back.

"Palo, Dirk," Sally ordered, "please escort Geoffrey back to his bed in the Medical Hut," the pair nodded at this as she turned to speak with her webfoot friend. "Dr. Quack, make _absolutely_ sure that he stays in bed. I don't want anyone else getting hurt by making unnecessary mistakes."

"I have no guarantees that he will stay in bed, Princess, but may I request a night watch on him until a point in which he doesn't repeat this or until I'm satisfied that he is fit to leave the infirmary?" he answered.

"I'll see to it that he as one," Sally replied. "I'll wait for you to return since I need you present at this meeting."

Dr. Quack nodded as he took his leave with Palo and Dirk carrying the nearly limp body of Geoffrey out of the hut.

A few moments later, they had returned with Geoffrey confined to a wooden wheelchair. The back brace was back to where it was earlier and he now had a cervical collar around his neck.

"My apologies, Princess," Dr. Quack said, placing his patient next to his seat, "but he was adamant to listen in on this meeting."

"I understand," Sally replied after a sigh, "and there is no need for you to be so formal as I have little use for my title at a time like this."

Dr. Quack nodded as he took his seat along with Palo and Dirk.

"I call this meeting to order," Sally announced, banging a gavel on the table. The hut was already silent even after Geoffrey came crashing down to the floor. "The first order of business is this new SWAT-bot that Snively has made, and I want _all_ of you to be _extremely_ careful when you're returning back to Knothole after each mission. Is that understood?"

Several rounds of 'yes, ma'am' circulated around the room.

"Second order of business," the monarch continued, "Dr. Quack, do you have the list of supplies that you need?"

"I do," he replied, passing the list down the row to give it to her, "and it's rather extensive, but I've prioritized them in the order of importance."

The princess quickly read over the list before replying, "I'll make sure that we get what you need immediately. Now," placing the list on the desk, "third order of business, Rotor, can you replicate Dr. Quack's blaster?" she asked, turning her attention towards her comrade.

"I will have to have a look at it and completely disassemble it in order to see its inner workings. It may take some time, but with the right parts. I am confident that I can replicate it if not improve on its original design."

"Thank you, Rotor," Sally replied, taking control of the meeting again. "Lastly, Uncle Chuck gave us a recording of a meeting with Snively and an unknown party. Sadly, we could only record what Snively is saying."

She pressed a button on NICOLE and a holographic image of Snively appeared sitting in his uncle's seat while speaking into a headset.

"THEY ARE JUST A MYTH!" the image of Snively snapped, breathing heavily as his face contorted in anger. "Even if they did exist, those Freedom Fighting pests would be all over us like the vermin they are!"

There was a short pause as Snively listened to his receiver.

"The Isle of Seraphs and those Gems of Anarchy are just a myth! Therefore, they don't exist!"

Another short pause was heard before he spoke again but slowly and calmly, "Time Stones?"

He ran a hand though his balding head as his eyes widened in shock. A growl came from his throat and it turned into a scream of anger as he shook his fist.

"CURSE YOU, HEDGEHOG!" he roared, slamming his puny, Mobian-sized fist onto the armrest. "CURSE YOU! YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU MADE ME LOOSE MY HAIR!"

The recording ended with Snively throwing his headset across the room. A long silence soon followed and was only broken by Geoffrey.

"I heard of those myths. They say that the Isle of Seraphs was once attached to the ground before some natural disaster caused it to vanish. Legends say that it floats somewhere above the clouds."

"Yes," Ari agreed, nodding his head from the opposite side of the room, "and the Time Stones can allow you to travel to any point in time (or so they say), but you need two well synchronized minds in order to use them."

"True," Palo continued, a few seats from Geoffrey, "and the Gems of Anarchy are said to have unimaginable power within them."

"How many are we talking about?" Tails asked, from his seat next to Ari.

"The myths say seven, others say six, but a few say eight," Palo replied.

"So we don't know how many there are?"

"Sadly, no," Palo continued, shaking his head. "It is _very_ difficult to separate fact from myth and much of our history is clouded by myths. We have certain battles in history in which we cannot separate fact from the myth behind it."

"I'll have Uncle Chuck keep us posted on this but right now we have more pressing matters to deal with," Sally said interrupting everyone from their thoughts. "Lupe and Geoffrey, would you be so kind and leave us since the two of you are on the inactive duty list at the moment."

Lupe nodded and proceeded to roll Geoffrey out when Dr. Quack stood up, "May I speak, Ma'am."

"You may."

"I would like to take my leave and care for my patients until such a time that I'm satisfied that they will recover."

"As you wish," Sally replied, nodding her head slightly.

The three of them left the hut and allowed the active Freedom Fighters to plan for their next mission for tonight.

* * *

Midnight. A time when most would be soundly asleep, but this was not the case for one Geoffrey St. John. He was tossing and turning- or as much as his body would allow due to its state- in his sleep. Whimpers escaped from his lips as several incoherent words came out in between whimpers. The sounds of explosions, screams, and laser fire filled his ears.

Geoffrey opened his eyes to find himself on a speeding hover transport being chased by a pursuing enemy down an underground tunnel. He held onto his oversized beret keeping it from flying off his head. He was surrounded by tall figures and he was starting to get a feeling of claustrophobia.

An explosion was heard on the right side of the transport and the ensuing blast ejected all occupants out of the transport sending them to the ground. Geoffrey hit the ground face first hard breaking his nose in the process. He could not help that the tears started to stream from his face as he began to cry from the pain that had been inflicted on him as he sat up.

"Alright, kiddo?" a deep but kind voice asked him.

"Uh-huh," Geoffrey chocked through his sobs.

He felt his head being tilted back and a piece of cloth pinching his nose.

"Keep your nose pinched and head back for the next ten or so minutes until the bleeding stops," the voice instructed.

Geoffrey nodded and another, more frightening voice, interrupted them.

"Get your hide over here, Sgt. Ram, and help with the evacuation!"

"I've got to go, kid." Sgt. Ram said to him. "Stay put until you're told to move."

His eyes cleared enough to see the retreating form of the one called Sgt. Ram. His fur was a light grey-beige color and his head was decorated with a pair of large curved horns. Geoffrey's gaze at Sgt. Ram was interrupted by the voice who ordered him to return to his position.

He spotted the large broad shouldered figure of a brown Doberman carrying a pair of fully-automatic rifles in his large paws. His brown uniform was stained with soil and black smudges that Geoffrey guessed to be mud. The Doberman shot a long volley of fire at the advancing enemy emptying his magazine.

Geoffrey looked down the path ahead of the pair and their comrades. The forms of the robotic peace officers were advancing on them firing at anything that moved, and the bodies of the fallen did little to stop the advancing droids.

"Sarge!" a feline comrade shouted. "Another transport en route, and," she double-checked with her binoculars, "Com. Prower is among them!"

The Doberman sergeant shouldered his weapons discharging the magazines before reloading them cross-pawed style.

"Covering fire!" the sergeant barked, cocking his weapon before firing another volley along with his comrades.

The next volley knocked out several of the droids allowing the fleeing transport a clear path towards them where it landed behind the barricaded army. The tall figure of an orange-brownish, blue-eyed fox stepped out of the transport. He wore a blue military uniform with a red sash crossing over his body from his right shoulder. The one thing that stood out on him was the black patch over his left eye.

"What's the status, Commander?" the Doberman asked, not bothering to salute a superior officer.

Geoffrey felt himself being lifted by someone and being placed in the transport when the fox answered.

"The city's lost, His Majesty is missing, an untold number have been caught, but it seems that the Princess, her nanny, and a few of her friends had managed to escape."

"At least she and some children had managed to escape this carnage."

The sounds of whimpering and panting brought their attention back to the transport and Geoffrey spotted a passenger in pain. It was a orange, blue-eyed vixen wearing a long blue dress and her swollen belly seemed to be pulsating; it appeared that something was alive in her belly.

The yellow duck, whom was checking her pulse, paled at her condition.

"Amadeus!" he shouted. "We need to evacuate immediately! I don't know how much longer," he paused as a blast hits the ceiling raining debris on them, "Rosemary can hold on!"

"Go, Commander," Sgt. Ram shouted, "we'll hold them off!"

"But," Amadeus protested but was interrupted by the lager form of the Doberman forcibly putting him into the transport.

"GO!" the Doberman barked at the driver.

The driver audibly and visibly gulped at the larger Mobian's tone and obeyed the order. The transport hummed to life and lifted itself off the ground before speeding the refugees out of the collapsing city like a shot.

Geoffrey could not see what happened next but he had heard what had happened. He felt and heard a large explosion and the anguished tone of Com. Prower calling out to someone named: 'Ari!'

* * *

Geoffrey eyes snapped open with the explosion and the name 'Ari' continually ringing in his head. He felt that his bed sheets were wet and he saw two pairs of eyes staring at him. After allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light, he saw both Lupe and Dr. Quack over his bed.

"Another nightmare, Geoffrey," Dr. Quack implied, using his pen light to check his patient's eyes.

Geoffrey grumbled a reply that made Dr. Quack chuckle slightly.

"Like father, like son," he quipped, checking the skunk's pulse.

"What did the Princess have plan for tonight?" Geoffrey asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know, and they'll be back in the next hour or so."

The skunk sighed as he felt his fast beating heart slow to its former rhythm. He closed his eyes as he took several slow and deep breaths but the images that he had just seen flashed across his eyes. His eyes snapped open just as Dr. Quack's voice spoke to him.

"Get some rest, Geoffrey, and take it easy for once," he ignored the annoyed expression on the skunk's face, "since it will take you at least three to eight lunar cycles until you are fully healed."

Geoffrey grumbled at the doctor's comment while he shifted into a better position in his bed. He heavily sighed again as he heard the pair walk back to their beds. An unknown amount of time had passed before he reached for his neatly folded uniform on a nearby chair pulling out an old and blood stained pawkerchief.

This was the same piece of cloth given to him by Sgt. Ram nearly eleven years ago and he could not shake the feeling that Ari Ram was the same individual. The skunk stuffed the pawkerchief back into his uniform's breast pocket muttering about court martials and disgracing the military. Geoffrey closed his eyes again and hoped that these nightmares from his childhood would leave him be for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Post Author's Note:**_ Another chapter is posted as I continue to give this series the ending it deserves. I shall warn you that updates will be slowed due to the cold weather but I'll try to get the next updates posted (hopefully) faster then this one._

_This is Gryffindor-Sword, Long-Time SatAM Fan, falling out! Until next time keep those Freedom Fighting spirits alive!_


	6. Ghosts of the Past

**Authors Note:**_ Wow, how long as it been since I last updated? A thing called life got into my way and I had very little time to continue and proofread my work. Well here is my next update._

_Enough chitchat, on with the next installment of _SatAM: The Lost Season_!_

* * *

Chapter Six

"_Ghosts of the Past_"

Robotropolis was a completely different place at night than it is during the day. Even if the sun never shined here, it was an even darker and gloomier place to be. The shadows seemed taller, bleaker, and more forbidding with the fear of things that went bump in the night even higher. This fear was heightened with the inception of the new Stealth-bots, and the shadows that the Freedom Fighters had once relied on for years may have become obsolete with these new droids.

The Freedom Fighters were currently using a scrap pile as cover when a passing patrol went by as scheduled.

"Let's do it, to it," Sonic announced, giving a thumbs up before stealthily walking in rhythm of the unsuspecting droid from behind. "What's up, SWAT-butt?"

The droid turned towards the source and spotted the hedgehog before he sped off with the droid chasing the intruder. Sonic sped around the corner stopping in front of the entrance of one of their intended targets, a Stealth-bot factory, guarded by two more SWAT-bots.

"Hello, boys," he greeted the pair, with crossed his paws.

The guards looked at each other and vanished on sight.

"Hey, Stealth-butts!" Sonic called out to the invisible pair, cupping his paws over his mouth. "You know what I told the SWAT-butts?" he continued not waiting for an answer. "You're ugly and you dress funny!"

His answer was a series of laser fire coming right at him but he dodged the blasts.

"_Sayonara_!" Sonic said, waving at his invisible audience before jetting off hoping that all patrols in the area were chasing him.

* * *

"Alright," Sally said to her companions consisting of Tails, Dirk, and Ari, "let's shut this place down, scramble the memory, and get an empty shell of a Stealth-bot."

She ended her short briefing by doing their sign of understanding of instructions with her friends: the 'do it to it' sign.

It was a simple sign that consisted the following actions: bumping the top and bottom of each other's fists, followed by a repeat with their index digit, again with their pinky digit, and ended with a thumps-up. With that deed done, they entered the factory and proceeded to halt whatever plans that Snively and his unknown ally were planning.

* * *

Elsewhere on the other side of Robotropolis, a second group of Freedom Fighters were hard at work. The group, consisting of Rotor, Antoine, Palo, and Bunnie, were hard at work gathering the supplies needed for Dr. Quack's medical supplies and Rotor's new inventions. They were scattered around a small area as they picked through scrap pile after scrap pile looking for what they needed. Whether it was old circuitry, discarded wires, empty shells of SWAT and Tech-bots, or even the occasional piece of glass; they were all needed for their cause.

Antoine was picking through a scrap pile when he pulled back his paw yelping in pain. When he pulled back his paw his sleeve was torn and a small trickle of blood was starting to stain his uniform.

"Are you alright, Antoine?" the rough-sounding voice of Palo asked.

"_Oui_," he replied, still a little shaken from the injury, "I am being fine."

Satisfied, Palo went back to work leaving Antoine standing where he stood. Antoine looked at his injury again to find the stain seemed to have doubled in size. He pulled his sleeve back and applied pressure to the wound with his lacey pawkerchief.

"Here, Sugah," Bunnie's voice rang from behind him, "let me help ya with that."

She folded his makeshift tourniquet and wrapped it around his wound tying it tight. Antoine winced at the pain, but he knew that a tight tourniquet was a good one in order to stop any type of bleeding short of the most severe cases.

"There you go, Sugah," she said finishing her deed and pulling down Antoine's sleeve.

An awkward silence met them as they locked eyes with each other, and they quickly looked away from one another blushing slightly.

"_Merci_, Bunnie, _merci_," Antoine replied, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Y-you're welcome, Sugah-'Twan," Bunnie stuttered a replied before returning to her duty.

Antoine unconsciously rubbed his wound as he watched the Southern Belle walk away, and he could not help that a sudden new feeling surfaced for the doe-eyed rabbit.

* * *

Far way and high off the ground perched in the shadows was their loyal friend and powerhouse of the Freedom Fighters, Dulcy.

She peered through her binoculars scanning the area around her friends watching for anything that would sneak up on them. A groan came from her throat as she dropped her binoculars shaking her head. Dulcy was now regretting coming along for this mission and it was not her fear of this place.

Over the past few days, she had been suffering from hot flashes and a burning sensation from deep within her chest. Dr. Quack had ruled out heartburn due to her age, but he admitted that the anatomy of a dragon was still alien to him. Dulcy placed her free claw on her chest and still felt the heat radiating from it.

"Oh, Ma," she sadly wondered, "what's happening to me? Is this all part of being a Protector like you said?"

A Protector of the dragon species was one blessed with additional powers that made them stronger and highly respected than their non-Protector brethren. Dulcy often wondered why she was one and not her mother. A sniffle came out of her nose as a single tear fell down her cheek as she thought about her mother and where she was (if she was not Robotized).

"I'll make you proud, Ma," she vowed, clearing her eyes and returning back to her duty.

* * *

Back at the Stealth-bot factory, the last remaining guards had just been incapacitated. The SWAT-bots were destroyed and the Worker-bots (the unfortunate Roboticized citizens) were restrained. One of them had caught Sally's eye as it fought against its restraints repeatedly droning: 'You are under arrest by order of Dr. Robotnik.' Even if its flesh was metal, Sally still could make out distinguishing features on the Worker-bot.

It had brown plating, the tips of its ears, the digits of its paws, and heels were black, and it appeared to have certain characteristics of a feline.

"Curious," Sally thought. "Where have I seen this individual before?"

She gasped when a second thought entered her mind, "Could she-"

"'Aunt' Sally," Tails' voice interrupted her train of thought, "we need to get to work!"

Snapping her head at his voice, Sally mentally cursed herself for forgetting the mission momentarily. She dashed towards the station that Tails would be helping her to hack into. With one last look at the Worker-bot, Sally turned her back towards the station taking out NICOLE and opening 'her.'

"NICOLE," Sally dictated, "standby to download what we need."

"On standby," NICOLE replied.

Sally just set her computer down when the sounds of rapid and excessive typing met her ears. She turned to see Tails typing at a feverish pace; his eyes darted at the information coming on the screen while he checked the location of the keys every so often.

"Slow down, Tails," she warned him. "We don't want to alert Snively that we are here."

"In a minute, 'Aunt' Sally, I think I just about hacked through the security," Tails replied, typing as he spoke.

"What do you mean 'I just about hacked through?'" Sally repeated, flabbergasted. "You only shut down a power plant on your own and help me get the Citizenry List. I don't think-"

"Got it!" Tails triumphantly announced interrupting her.

When she looked at the screen again, Sally saw warning message popping up left and right. She quickly recovered from her shock and pulled a cord from NICOLE and hooked 'her' up to the station.

"NICOLE," she began silently hoping that the security was down, "download all known files pertaining to Stealth-bots."

"Downloading," the unit replied and a few moments later 'she' replied again. "Download complete."

Not wanting to question her computer's capabilities, she continued, "NICOLE, upload the file 'Trojan.'"

The unit did not reply after a few seconds and this action caught Sally's attention immediately.

"NICOLE?"

"Sorry, Sally," the unit replied, there was a noticeable crack in 'her' voice. "Temporarily audio error. Uploading 'Trojan.'"

Only seconds later NICOLE announced, "'Trojan' uploaded," the crack in 'her' voice seemed to become more evident.

The princess arched an eyebrow at the statement but would talk to her digital friend after the mission was over. She unplugged the unit announcing, "We're leaving. Dirk, Ari, do you have the shells we need?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Ari replied, packing a Stealth-bot arm into his backpack.

"Good," she replied, checking her watch. Everything was right on schedule, "Move out."

Her order given; they vacated the facility and entered a nearby dark alleyway.

* * *

Elsewhere, Sonic had just eluded his pursuers by using his speed and the shadows to his advantage. He crept out of the alley he was currently hiding in and out in the open. The hedgehog quickly and thoroughly scanned the area before he picked up a large stone. Sonic used the stone to tap three times on a nearby vertical pipe; this action caused scrap pile in front of him to open up like a hinge.

This scrap pile was actually a ruse to hide the nerve center of his uncle in this foul city. He feared for his uncle's safety and dreaded anything happening to him. Sonic also feared what would happen to his Uncle Chuck if Snively found him. He quickly entered his uncle's home where the door closed behind him.

"Hey, Unc!" Sonic called out. "You in here!"

"Not so loud, Sonny," his uncle's voice rang from the next room. "I have listening devices still running."

Uncle Chuck's tone was at a reasonable level, chastising his nephew in the process.

The room they were in was spacious except for being a bit small. There were various machines broken into parts, recording devices on a workbench in the corner, and the walls were decorated with monitors showing various points of interest throughout Robotropolis. The secret lair his uncle had been using had been updated since the last time he set foot into this place.

"How ya been?" Sonic asked.

"Don't worry about me, Sonic. Focus more on removing Snively; I'll be fine," Uncle Chuck replied.

"But-"

"Now Sonic," his uncle interrupted, putting his metal paws on his nephew's shoulders, "you stop worrying about me. I'll be just fine."

A single tear came down Sonic's cheek and Uncle Chuck wiped it off.

"Now why don't you leave me to my work and finish up your mission," he suggested to Sonic.

Sighing in defeat, the younger hedgehog's shoulders slumped, "Okay, Unc."

"Don't worry," Uncle Chuck repeated, walking towards the lever that would allow him to exit. "I'll be fine."

"Stay safe, Unc," Sonic said, sadly hugging his uncle.

"I will, Sonic," his uncle returned, pulling the lever and allowing Sonic to exit the makeshift lair.

* * *

Meanwhile, the second group of Freedom Fighters had just finished their mission and were making their retreat. It was not easy because of two reasons: they were loaded down with scrap and they had already been spotted by a passing patrol. The team ran down a deserted street with laser fire raining down upon them. An explosive-type blast hit the ground near Antoine causing him to topple over- partly due to the weight he had been carrying- and into the mud face first. Rotor and Palo came to his defense lobbing the metal-eating capsules at the firing automations while Bunnie helped her fallen comrade back to his feet.

"All right, Sugah?" she asked him.

Coughing up mud, Antoine was helped to his feet, "_Oui_."

He ignored the stain on his uniform and rejoined his comrades as they made their escape.

They rounded the next corner meeting more SWAT-bots.

"Halt! By order of Dr. Robotnik!" they droned.

The team retreated the way they come but they met the drones that were pursuing them earlier.

"I surrender!" Antoine screeched, putting his paws in the air.

Antoine's cowardly action was cut short by another voice.

"Hey, SWAT-butts!"

All eyes, both organic and automated, turned to see Sonic standing on a low leveled rooftop.

"¿_Qué pasa_?" the hedgehog quipped waving at those below.

As predicted, the SWAT-bots forgot their prisoners and turned their attention to their 'Priority One.'

"Hedgehog Alert! Priority One!"

The hedgehog leapt off of the roof with laser blasts firing around him. After landing he zipped off running past his surrounded comrades with the automations chasing after him.

* * *

Elsewhere, Snively was watching what had just happened frustrated at the artificial intelligence of the SWAT-bots.

"Curse you, Julian," he muttered, slamming a fist on the armrest. "Curse you," he repeated, ignoring the pain in his hand. "I knew that programming them to go after the Rodent on sight above all other threats was a bad idea."

A sharp wheeze was heard behind him, "Quickster trouble?"

"Oh, go back to your little hole in the Void," Snively snapped at his visitor.

"Why don't… you let me… eliminate your… threat… or perhaps-"

"I could care less for chasing myths," Snively snapped, interrupting the being. "I would rather let them believe that I'm working alone before revealing that you are helping me."

The wheezing being wheezed once again, "As you… wish."

With that the being backed further into the shadows and vanished into a pinkish vortex. The vortex closed and Snively was once again alone in the central control room.

The semi-bald headed midget looked at the screens that showed the fleeing group of Freedom Fighting pests that those cursed automations let go. Snively was not too pleased that he could not control the SWAT-bots like his dearly departed uncle could. He could only order them to do minor tasks but overriding them could only be achieved through Julian's voice. He looked at the screen again and saw the group enter into a building. A smile crept onto Snively's face as he recognized the building and knew that there was only one way in and one way out.

He held a button on the armrest and spoke, "Attention all SWAT-bots in the vicinity of the Hall of Heroes! Those Freedom Fighting pests are in that area! Go to that location and wait for further orders!"

With a cackle, Snively crawled out of the oversized seat and strolled out of the room to seek a transport to the dilapidated building known as the Hall of Heroes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sally's group had just managed to ditch the patrols that were chasing them; however, they were a bit uneasy with their escape. It seemed that the patrols stopped chasing them when they had made it to a long, wide open, and hilly plain.

"This is weird," Dirk commented, breathing heavily with his paws on his knees. "Why did they stop chasing us?"

Ari glanced around at where they had just stopped, "Hey, isn't this the place where the cemetery used to be?"

"Cemetery?" Sally repeated, looking around trying to find a familiar landmark within her surroundings.

"You're right, Ari." Dirk said. "Right there to our west," he pointed in the direction of a dilapidated cathedral-like building. "That is where the Hall of Heroes stood before Robotnik took over."

"The more pressing matter is why did those SWAT-bots stop chasing us," Ari continued, catching his breath. "I've heard that he was superstitious, but I never believed it."

"What do you mean that 'he was superstitious?'"

As the two debated the subject, Tails noticed that Sally was on her knees with a paw clutched to her chest. His alert ears drooped slightly when he saw tears starting to stream down her face. He could hear her soft sobs over the humming of the factories, the engines of the Hover Units, and the rhythmic footsteps of the patrols. The latter sounds made his fur stand up on end.

"'Aunt' Sally?" he asked, slowly walking up to her. "Are you okay?"

"Why did you have to destroy my last memory of them?" Sally asked no one in particular, as two large tears ran down her face.

"'Aunt' Sally?" Tails asked again but she ignored him, still lost in her own thoughts.

"I know that you did something to my first real and best friend since you were the last one to see her-"

"'Aunt' Sally?"

"-but I was _too_ young and naïve to know your true motives."

"'Aunt' Sally?" his voice sounded more urgent and her monologue caught the ears of Ari and Dirk.

"You destroyed countless lives," more tears began to stream down her face, "and I cannot forgive you for the atrocities you've committed. You will have your day in court Dr. Robotnik, née Dr. Julian Kintobor, and I'll make sure that you receive the stiffest punishment that our courts offer to those like you."

Sally sniffled as she dried her eyes before continuing, unknowingly raising her voice, "If you did indeed do something to her I swear I'll MAKE YOU PAY FOR-"

"Sally!"

Gasping, she turned to the source to see the wide eyes of her companions. Immediately feeling guilty, Sally hung her head low now realizing the mistake she had made. Raising one's voice in a place like this was not a very good idea and, in her anger, she had forgot about that.

"Are you okay, Sally?" Tails asked.

"I'm fine, sweetie," she replied, after a sniffle.

However, he ignored her statement sensing something was bothering her.

"You were talking about someone," he pressed on. "Was she your friend?"

The royal squirrel sniffled again, drying her eyes.

"I promise," she said, rising to her feet. "After we return, I'll you about her, but not now as this is the time nor the place for this discussion."

Then something passing by them from nearby caught their attention. They adverted their gaze to the sky to find a Hover Unit passing by. The quartet crouched to the ground near a mound of terrain watching the Unit's course. It landed outside of what was left of the structure known as the Hall of Heroes where its pilot stepped out.

They recognized the pilot as Snively- given that he was the only organic life form that was authorized (unless otherwise noted) to be here. The crouched Freedom Fighters spied him as he walked around to the front of his transport looking around as he walked. Spotting no one around him, he spoke to his wrist.

"He's up to something," Ari whispered, his companions nodded at this.

"Is there another way in?" Sally asked.

The ram shook his head, "There is only one way in or out, and the midget is blocking the way. He must've found something-"

"-or someone," Dirk added.

The four silently agreed to make and find a way to the Hall of Heroes to see what Snively was interested in.

* * *

Unknown to them, their friends had taken refuge in the dilapidated building. Their breathing was heavy and a few were on their knees trying to catch their breaths. The sight around them is not what they had remembered of this place or what they had expected.

The white stone floors and sarcophaguses and well polished marble columns were blackened due to the volumes of pollution in the air. There was no sign of the weapons nor the august banners that once decorated the place. The banners above each sarcophaguses with the fallen's family crest nor their picture was seen, but this was not the most hardhearted scene was around them.

Marble sarcophaguses had their tops up-heaved and its' deceased occupants absent from their eternal beds. There seemed to be no evidence that the occupants of the sarcophaguses had been entombed at all.

"Horrible!" Antoine crocked, tears started to stream down his muzzle. "How could he-"

His voice trailed off as he started to stream out garbled phrases in his native tongue that seemed to make little to no sense. The scene had other similar effects on the others.

Rotor had removed his hat when he saw the scene and tried to hold back the tears starting to stream down his face. He had no family entombed here but the thought of just thinking about the place and the desecration to it sent shivers down his spine and tears to his eyes.

Bunnie had both of the paws to her mouth as she held back a gasp. She, too, tried to hold back her tears but it failed when she had laid her eyes on the scene before her. One of her great-uncles was entombed here generations ago, and she had been told on several occasions by her mother that she had inherited his tenacity to protect others around her (even if she never knew them).

Palo was a different story with the scene before him. He was not angry. No… he beyond angry. He was incensed at the _very_ idea that someone would violate such a sacred place. The bear, in his anger, kicked a pebble where it shattered against one of the many stone columns.

"How dare he!" Palo roared. "How dare he do this to us! This is no then a slap in the face!" he picked up a paw-sized rock and threw it against another column- shattering it into many pieces. "This an attack on our very hearts!"

No one bothered to remind him to keep his voice down since they had were already lost in their own thoughts. They were soon brought back to their thoughts by the chuckling of someone entering the sacred place.

"Hold it right where you stand."

They all turned to the source to see the last individual they wanted to see in a place like this, Snively. The midget was also holding a blaster in his hand and the sight of such a weapon caused Antoine to screech in fear. He toppled over onto his back and (much like a turtle) he could not get back up. Bunnie made a move to help him but Snively fired his blaster near her feet causing her to stop short.

"I told you not to move," he reiterated, waving his blaster at them.

"How dare you and Robotnik desecrate this place!" Palo roared, after finding his voice again.

The midget glared at the taller then average Mobian and spoke in a surprisingly calm but sarcastic tone, "Neither I nor Julian did such a thing or I would've heard it from him if he did. I at least- to a degree- honor the fallen no matter how freakish they looked," he muttered the latter under his breath before retuning to his normal tone, "but Julian is a _completely_ different story. He would've leveled the place if it wasn't for that dumb superstitious he had for graveyards."

An eyebrow arched on Palo's face and this caught Snively's attention.

"You'd be surprised how little you know of Julian and me. He would dig up his _own_ mother if he believed that she had something of his or of interest entombed with her."

The midget's answer had mix reactions from the Freedom Fighters from complete shock to anger on their faces.

"Now," Snively continued ignoring his captures' reactions, "I have a battalion of SWAT-bots on its way. Now I suggest you surren-"

He never finished his sentence as he was blindsided something much larger then him.

"I've heard enough out of you, Midget-boy!" Ari roared as he came on the scene quickly followed by the others within his group.

Snively groaned in pain clutching his side as he got back up. He noticed that he was unarmed and his weapon was still within reach of him, but when he dove to reclaim it he was met by the most _unlikely_ of adversaries.

Tails had also made a dive for the blaster and the two locked eyes with one another when they met. What soon followed was a struggle for the claim of the weapon. The tug of war soon turned into a tug of weight as the two pulled each other trying to claim the weapon. Snively, due to his species' heavier frame, had the advantage in the weight department whereas Tails, with his lighter and more flexible frame, had the advantage in speed.

"Be careful, Tails!" Sally called out, helplessly watching the scene before her.

She could not believe that he would do such a reckless action diving for a dangerous weapon. The princess knew that his recent show of bravado was going to get him killed or worse. Sally was brought back to reality as she gasped with the others as Snively won the tug of war with the blaster and brought Tails into a chokehold with it to his temple.

"Now," he sinisterly said with a wicked grin, "surren-"

Like last time, the midget's sentence was interrupted in the form of the heel from Tails' shoe connecting with his foot. Yelping in pain Snively made the mistake of loosening his grip of his hostage giving him enough space and time to bite his forearm. With two zones of pain, he was relieved of his weapon by Tails twisting his arm before a swift kick to the kidney sent him to the ground.

Just as the weapon had hit the stone ground Tails had kicked it sending it towards his companions and the only other individual who had experience with such a weapon, Ari. The pup's eyes never left his foe as he groaned in pain from the discomfort inflicted on his person.

"You'll pay for that," Snively began, rising to his feet, "you two-tailed fr-"

For the third this night he was interrupted by the ire of his insult's foot coming into contact with the region in between his abnormally large nose and his upper lip. Dazed, much like a cartoon character seeing stars (or any variation), he tried to keep his balance, but after several seconds of comedic stumbling. He fell face first breaking his nose in the process and submitting to unconsciousness.

The thud of Snively's body reverberated throughout the complex as Tails back away from the fallen body while keeping his eyes on his foe. His face was a mask of mixed emotions from anger to shock.

Anger at Snively for being an accessory to all of the crimes that Robotnik had committed to shock that he had just defeated a foe using the skills that his 'Aunt" Bunnie had taught him. No one spoke for a few tense moments but that was broken in the form of the jubilant cry of his mentor, friend, and surrogate aunt.

"Way a go, Sugah-Fox!" Bunnie shouted.

Ari joined in with a hearty laugh, "Now that's the Prower tenacity I haven't seen in a decade!"

A blush became apparent on the pup's face as he nervously chuckled but he kept his eyes on his fallen opponent.

"Excuse _moi_," Antoine squeaked, breaking the awkward moment in his own- albeit comical- way, "but can someone being helpful and be getting me on _mon's_ feet?"

"Sorry, Sugah," Bunnie replied, helping their upturned companion back to his feet.

Sally, meanwhile, was loading projectile into her weapon, a flair gun, from her vest pocket. Aiming towards the shattered skylights; she fired it signaling to her other companions that they needed help.

* * *

Ducly saw the red flash from her perch and her thought quickly turned to the worse.

"That doesn't look good," she thought, spreading her wings and taking flight towards the source of the red flare.

* * *

Sonic, too, saw the flash and quickly changed course doubling back down the many unchanged alleyways towards the source.

"I'm coming gang!" he thought, racing back into the open with his robotic pursuers still on his tail.

* * *

"You don't think he's telling the true about having a battalion out there waiting for us?" Palo asked Sally.

"I wouldn't put it by him not to," she replied stowing her weapon away.

"He's also smart to bring a weapon only he could use," Ari added, examining the weapon Tails had kicked towards him earlier.

"What do you mean?" Dirk asked.

"A standard during the Great War," the ram began, disassembling the weapon into five pieces, "all new recruits were issued a weapon tailored only to them. Anyone else using it won't be able to use it."

A groan singled that their foe was starting to stir. All eyes were on him as he slowly came to his feet.

"I'll make you pay for-"

For the fourth time he was interrupted in the form of a rush of wind circling around him causing him to become suspended in the air for a few seconds; spinning like a top.

"I don't think so, Snotley," a voice rang out just as he was dumped to the floor.

The midget groaned in annoyance as it did not take much brain processing to tell who had just shown up. His glare met with the speedy hedgehog as he stood within his troublesome friends.

"What happened to you, Short-nik?" Sonic asked, noticing the midget's bloodied nose. "Did you get your nose caught in a door?"

Snively did not bite into the hedgehog's bait- only glared at him. He only moved when the skylight above them shattered sending a shower of glass down on them that was quickly followed by a large body.

"Oh," he began, sound not very surprised, "you brought your dragon along too."

A growl was Dulcy's answer as she bared her teeth and emitted smoke out of her mouth and nostrils. Snively only chuckled at her pathetic attempt to scare him, and he knew it was only a matter of time before his (but still Julian's) SWAT-bots arrive. He decided to stall for time allowing them to surround the place.

"How pathetic of you to send in such a despicable and inexperience dragon to help you in your feeble cause, Princess?" the hairless ape began, his voice dripping of sarcasm. "There is only one dragon that spooked me and Julian tortured it after it destroyed countless SWAT-bots before its capture. I know that there are other dragons still out there since you," he pointed towards Ducly, "and your friends helped free that other one."

"What of the first?" Dulcy asked, her aggression teetering on curiosity.

"I think its name was Sabine, or Selene, or something like that,"

"Sabina," Dulcy offered, uttering a name she had not heard nor said in years.

"That sounds right," Snively inclined his head slightly. "Julian tortured it after its capture before throwing it into the Roboticizer."

As he spoke, the dragon became to get angrier and angrier at him, and the heat within her chest began to swell to the point that any other non-dragon would have their internals cooked to a crisp.

"How dare you do this to my Ma, Fatso!" she angrily thought. "If I see you again I'll surely burn you beyond being well done."

"Last I heard," Snively's voice interrupted her train of thought, "the dragon was still being tortured even in its robotized form. I can only assume that all of its parts were thrown into the insor-"

This was too much for Dulcy to handle as she bellowed out a large tower of flame towards the midget. He quickly ducked the flame as he felt it near his heard.

"You'll pay for-" he snarled but he soon became aware of the heat on his head.

The last strands of his hair started to act like the fuse to a stick of dynamite. A few seconds later he was yelping in pain trying to fan out the flames on his head. He was soon left completely bald leaving him with another scar to his person that was started by an upstart hedgehog ten years ago.

Snively chocked back a sob as he heard Sonic burst into laughter at his predicament. He slowly faced his foes once again glaring all the way, and he would not see but only feel pain that he had not felt since the last dragon that had nearly killed him.

The midget was frozen solid- courtesy of Dulcy's ice breath through her nostrils- before a quick swing of her whip-like tail sent him sailing into the wall knocking him unconscious and deicing him. She prepared to burn him with her newly acquired flame breath before several events happened without she realized it.

Palo and Dirk each held her back at her waist while Ari took the front of her. Rotor and Bunnie each took her tail and were in a tug of war with the dragon trying to hold her back. Even the sounds of Sonic and Sally's voiced sounded distant to her.

"Chill, Dulce!" Sonic shouted, stepping in between her and Snively with Sally.

"Killing him won't bring your mother back, Dulcy," the princess added. "All we know is that he could be lying to us."

"I know he's not lying!" the dragon snarled back, bellowing flames and smoke as she spoke.

"He'll have his day in court," Sally said, "along with Robotnik if he did indeed survive, but right now we need to get out of here before we're trapped in here."

No one argued with that as they quickly planned on their best route of escape. Dulcy would quickly fly them deep into the Great Forest before letting them walk from there. Despite the weight, she flew effortlessly towards their destination, but Sally's thoughts were soon on the Worker-bot she saw earlier. Could it be an acquaintance of a friend she knew long ago?

* * *

**Post Author's Note:**_ I apologize for the long wait but a great piece of art takes time to be created._

_Review are much appreciated, and let's keep those Freedom Fighting Spirits alive!_

_This is Gryffindor-Sword, long time SatAM Fan, falling out!_


	7. A Blue Day

**Author's Note:**_ I apologize for the delay by Real Life comes first and I did hit the wall known as "Writer's Block." I can't promise when the next chapter comes up since it's going to take a lot of planning and thought before I attempt posting it up._

_I think I've chatted enough, on with the chapter!_

* * *

Chapter Seven

"_A Blue Day_"

The next morning was a solemn day in Knothole. Everyone was deeply saddened upon hearing the monstrosities and sacrilegious actions that happened during the Coup. Sally was one of the hardest hit since her beloved mother and very dear friend were buried in a place she had not visited in a decade. She was currently trying to drown her sorrows in Rosie's herbal tea, and was on the verve of collapsing from exhaustion.

"Now, Sally," the nanny lightly reprimanded, "you should not be dwelling on this and get some sleep. The day will come when we can end put all of this behind us and get on with our lives. _They_ would not want you to dwell on this and drink yourself to death."

"I can't help it," Sally weakly replied, tears streaming down her face. "I still miss Mama, and a still miss N-" she tried to say another name but the princess could not bear to talk about this individual, "- my friend to this day."

"_She_ would not want see you like this either," Rosie replied, placing a paw on Sally's shoulder. "Perhaps you should talk about this to someone before it eats you on the inside out."

The princess opened her mouth to reply but a knock on the door interrupted her. Rosie left to answer the door revealing a near equally tired twin-tailed fox.

"Good morning, Miles," she greeted.

Tails yawned and stretched before answering, "Good morning, Rosie. Is 'Aunt' Sally around?"

A small smile twitched across her lips at the moniker he had always referred Sally as, "Yes, she is here. What is the reason you need to see her?"

"Back in Robotropolis in that cemetery," he began, rubbing a sleepy eye, "she was talking about a friend who was suppose to be buried there. She said that she would talk about it when we got back, but I waited until morning before I talked to her."

The smile on the nanny's face was replaced with a frown upon hearing this. She cocked her head towards her former charge and noticed that the tears on her face renewed. Rosie wondered how long she had kept the memories of her friend bottled up since they had returned, and hoped that the princess would relent enough to talk about it hoping it would help her through this. To her relief, Sally nodded her head permitting their young guest to enter.

"Come in," the nanny replied, permitting Tails' entrance, "but allow me to brew a fresh pot of tea before you ask her, please."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a nod.

Rosie led him to the chair opposite of Sally and retrieved her tea carrier before leaving the room. This allowed ample time for Sally to collect her thoughts about how to explain her dearly departed friend to the young pup. She knew where to start but after that it would be more difficult for her to keep her emotions in check. Moments later Rosie returned with the fresh brew and poured a fresh cup for her guests before she discretely exited the room to busy herself in the next room. The nanny knew deep down that this was another trial in growing up for Sally, and she would have to let the young monarch talk about the subject that was picking at her without the interference of her former nanny.

Sally allowed the fragrance of the vanilla, cinnamon, and strangely mint beverage tickle her nostrils as she tried to collect her thoughts about a friend whom she had not mentioned since her passing- not even to Tails.

"Nicole," the young monarch uttered before speaking a bit more clearly. "Nicole Lynx was the name of my friend. She would have been about my age and one of the few I know who could put Sonic in his place."

Tails blinked in confusion and she continued as if sensing his current state, "You'll be surprised at all of the big words she called Sonic that made his head spin. Even you at one time used a few… choice words towards him. Remember: _acus rudis_?"

Tails snorted at the memory as he grabbed a nearby napkin to wipe the mess on his face. Sally also chuckled at the memory as she leaned back with beverage in paw.

"You share many qualities with her. She was smart, loved to learn (as well as have fun), and a good, selfless friend," she sighed, sipping her beverage. "You would've loved her, Tails, since she was a real and true friend."

Her eyes began to gloss over as Tails watched his friend recall memories of her past as she shakily sipped her tea. A friend he never knew nor heard of and he now wondered why no one else even mentioned her to him at all. Several scenarios danced in his head about Nicole Lynx using several phrases of a forgotten language to the pseudo kind- that strangely matched several he had used before- when she insulted Sonic. Tails wanted to know what happened to her, but he already knew that Sally's tears would most likely renew. Instead he opted to ask: "How'd you meet?"

Sally's eyes briefly met his, surprised at the choice of words he made. She had mentally prepared herself when he would ask him what happened to her, but felt relieved when he asked how she met her. She refilled her empty cup- noting that Tails had not finished his cup- before she began to start, but was interrupted by Rosie placing a thick tome on the table.

"I found this photo album when I was doing some light cleaning," the aged nanny began, "and I thought it would be help in your discussion."

Sally quickly pushed aside her cup and grabbed the album just as Rosie turned to leave the room. The first page she thumbed to was of a few pictures taken just shortly after the Coup happened. Sadness quickly swelled in the princess' chest as she vividly remembered that day and how each of her friends dealt with it. She and her friends never played any games for days on end since that day, and it took Rosie chastising them not to be in such a state at that young of an age.

The chipmunk quickly pushed those thoughts away as she thumbed to the front of the album, and the page she landed on made her heart wedge into her throat. There he was; the figure she had not seen until as of recently. The regal looking light brown and blue eyed fox stood wearing the attire of royalty. Her tears renewed as she remembered their last meeting in that _horrible_ prison known as the Void.

"Daddy," she breathed, running her paw over the figure.

A gasped escaped her when her eyes laid upon the figure standing next to her father. She nearly shared Sally's youthful appearance in terms of facial looks. The voluptuous, blue eyed chipmunk smiled widely with her husband as she held a bundle of blankets close to her. The princess' eyes streamed with tears since she knew who it was and her last words of 'to rule with honor' rang in her head.

"Momma," she mouthed, repeating the action she had done to her father.

Sally stared at the photo for an extended time before she re-gathered her thoughts thumbing forward a few pages until she found a photo she was looking for.

"Here," she said indicating the photo she found. "This was taken shortly after I first met Bunnie and gotten permission to invite Nicole over to the palace."

The pup looked at the photo while Sally sipped her tea. He easily spotted a younger Bunnie and Sally- the former braiding the hair of the latter whilst adding flowers to the braids.

"You used to have such long hair," Tails mused aloud.

"I did," she concurred, nodding and sipping her tea, "but times changed when I needed it cut short."

Tails returned to the photo to the last figure in the portrait. The young lynx named Nicole was getting her hair decorated by Sally with rainbow beads on a pair of strands of hair at the back of her head and a crown of sunflowers decorated her head. Nicole's fur was brown except for the blackened areas of her paws, the tips of her ears, an elongated isosceles triangle-shape spot between her eyes, and feet nearly black leaving her brown toes to contrast her inherited fur color. The young lynx cub was dressed in a deep lavender dress with a grayish hem. Her eyes were a deep forest green and the black streaks underneath her eyes seemed to enhance their color.

He could hear Sally's faint sniffles across from him and he too tried to fight to hold back his tears. Tails suddenly remembered the vow he heard Sally say about seeking revenge on Robotnik for doing something to her, and- as much as he hated not asking her what had happened to Nicole- decided to risk asking what had set her off and to clarify the reason of her breakdown.

"At a time when we all trusted Robotnik," she began, much to his surprise, "he wanted her to come down to his lab so he could expose her to the wonders of technology. I believed that she was smarter then Rotor at the time and permission was granted for her to come down to the lab after my father and her parents allowed it. Before she went down there I gave her my favorite ribbon," she chocked up slightly before clearing her throat to continue, "which had the royal coat of arms on it. It was meant to be good luck for her since it was one of her dreams to be a scientist."

She sipped her tea and cleared her tears again, "It was only minutes later when Robotnik could be heard screaming at the top of his lungs calling for a medic. My friend, Nicole, had literally dropped dead."

The tears on her face became too unbearable that she had to excuse herself and leave Rosie's hut. Tails was left alone in the hut in his own thoughts about what he had just been told. The evil scourge of Robotnik had ruined countless lives and not his own. A few subconscious memories flashed across his eyes of him running through the Great Forest as he was being pursued by an unknown hulking monster. He walked out and closed the door Sally had forgotten do so he could seek his own refuge to think.

Rosie heard the door close and reentered the room to find two full cups of tea, an open album, and a three-quarter pot of tea. A sigh left her lips as she too recalled the young Nicole Lynx and how close she was to the princess at one time so long ago.

* * *

Sally laid splayed out on her bed as tears streamed down her muzzle. Memories she had not thought of until recently flashed across her eyes- much like watching lightning during the night. Her eyes soon laid on her computer on her nightstand. A gift from her father shortly after Nicole past away; a gift he had been meaning to give to her before the horrible tragedy of her friend.

The princess reached for her computer, barking an order upon opening, "NICOLE is your self-diagnostic finished?"

"Yes, Sally," her unit replied in 'her' usual tone. "All scans are completed and all systems are running at optimum efficiency."

"Then why did your voice change when that Worker-bot was tied up?" she anxiously pointed out.

"Just a slight audio error, and I cannot see what you can see."

"But your voice nearly sounded-" she was soon interrupted by her digital friend.

"Are you sure that you are not hearing what you want to hear?" NICOLE pointed out, 'her' voice as normal as ever.

Sally sighed heavily and slowly, "Perhaps you're right, NICOLE."

"A suggestion: get some sleep since it has been a tiring day for you."

"Maybe so, NICOLE," as she closed her computer and placed it on her nightstand. "Maybe so."

Sally removed her boots placing them neatly near her bed before laying on her bed. Sleep soon took over and she fell asleep without any nightmares.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snively was in his uncle's former seat after tending to the wounds inflicted on him by a _mere_ brat. A smirk came across his lips as he reviewed the security tapes that contained the princess' plan to plant a virus into the system.

"Nice try pests," he cackled, greedily rubbing his hands together. "It's going to take more then that to outwit me. What you don't realize is that I aloud that brat to easily hack into my system so I can use your own virus against you when that blasted computer is hooked up again on your next mission."

He cackled again as the virus was copied to an external source before he keyed in to have the original purged from the system. The midget cackled again louder but it was all for naught when his eyes spotted a multitude of red boxes flashing across the screen. A warning screen flashed stating that his firewall had collapsed and this was followed by the same message as the other firewalls of the rest of the network had also collapsed.

"No," he whispered, his voice soon began to get louder with each articulation, "no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

Try as he might he could not stop the virus from spreading, and he soon realized that there was a massive security breach in the system that was not present before. Snively did not help the brat hack into the system; he had inadvertently helped him obliterate all levels of security and allowed the virus to hit higher levels of the network!

Yelling in frustration, he slammed his puny, Mobian-shaped fists onto the chair's large armrest; the pain in his hands was something he was all _but_ immune to. He never understood how Julian could do that action to his organic hand, but had a theory that his uncle had robotic implants into that appendage.

Another growl escaped his lips as he recalled that last time the two-tailed brat caused him trouble before on his own. It was the time when Julian began to search for the mystical Deep Power Stones when the patrolling SWAT-bots captured the brat; however, the hedgehog freed his companion and threatened to use him as a shield. Snively was lucky the SWAT-bots held their fire when he ordered them to do so, and he soon found himself at the nearby power station. The midget refused to help that pesky hedgehog in shutting down power station; however, to his utter astonishment the youthful brat was able to shutdown the station for six hours, and he reported that the hedgehog was in the area to his uncle. As usual, Julian assumed that his spiny adversary had shutdown the power plant, and Snively shuddered at the thought if he had told him that it was actually the hedgehog's bratty sidekick who shut it down.

"Pestilence trouble?" the wheezing voice of his new ally spoke from the shadows.

"What do you want, Naugus?" the midget snapped.

What came out of the shadows was a Mobian that was both strange and a rarity. Most Mobians had at most two combinations of their parents' species (if they were of different species) with smaller recessive traits, but this Mobian was a fabrication of three different Mobians: the horn of a rhino decorated his head, the gloved pincer of a lobster on his left paw, and the ears of a bat. His red eyes seemed to glare in the dimmed light- reminiscent of Julian's own red irises-, fur was brown while his long, white beard and a tail of some unknown species dragged on the ground. The mish-mashed Mobian wore a fanged grin on his face while he walked with a hunched back- Snively guessed he had spent most of his time sitting around while in his prison.

"Your plan… was ill-conceived… from the… start. You… underestimated… them… again," Naugus irritatingly pointed out.

"I'm highly aware of that!" the midget spat back.

"Tell me,… what do… you know of… the legendary… Kitsune?" his eyes briefly landed on the image of Tails, obviously changing the subject while chasing another fairy tale.

Snively angrily leapt out of his seat to face the much larger Mobian, "I don't care for myths, fables, fairy tales, or any other similar topic! I only care about facts! Don't forget our deal!"

"I have… not forgotten… our deal… You help… me get out… of the Void… permanently… and I get… to have fun…. with Julian… Unfortunately… I wanted to… have fun with… that traitor but… the fool met… his demise."

Naugus glared at the being that was 2.5 times his size as he said this. Silently smiling as his partner visibly held back an audible gulp as he knew what the misshapen Mobian wanted- revenge on the one who had imprisoned him in the Void.

"Do not… forget our… agreement… Colin," with those parting words, Naugus left this plain of existence and retreated back to the Void before his body began to crystallize once again.

Colin. A name Snively had not been called by in nearly thirteen years. 'Snively' was a nickname his schoolmates had given him for some reason he had yet to find out. His Uncle Julian seemed to have adopted the name to torment and to remind him of his place. Snively never forgot the day when his uncle promised him to be an equal in his empire only to be put far, far below him in terms of a living being. The midget did not know how Naugus found out his real name, but he had more pressing matters to content with- such as repairing the network he had unwittingly help destroy.

* * *

As Snively began to repair the damaged he had inadvertently caused to the network, Tails sat in a high tree within Knothole. This was his sanctuary near top of the tree. Even when he had been younger he had loved to be up high off the ground and heights have never bothered him at all. The pup was not scheduled for anything for the day and it allowed him to think about his meeting with Sally.

A friend he never knew, and the more he thought about it the more he needed to know but who to ask? Rosie might be a good source, but he needed others who were closer to Nicole Lynx. Sally was out of the question- given her current state- and that left his other comrades who might be a good source of information. For some reason, hearing the princess talk about loosing her friend seemed to mirror his own loss- separation from his parents.

He dug into his knapsack where it hung on a knot on the tree and removed a sheet of paper. The paper was found in the box Sally had given to him, and it was a message from his mother. He had read the contents of the message to the point that he had memorized her words, and strangely he could actually hear his mother's voice speak to him:

_Dear Miles,_

_Your father and I have heard great things about you, and we are __very__ proud of what you have accomplished at such a young age. You have surpassed your father in terms of accomplishments at that age, and I see you accomplishing greater things as you progress in your life. I may not like you putting yourself in danger like this but that cannot be helped. You are a Prower after all, and being a soldier is more of a calling then a sense of duty or a way of life._

_Learn to shallow your fear as it will help you out when you need to call upon your courage during another mission. Courage and intelligence are just two of the many attributes that the Prower Family is known for, and you have just added a new attribute to that is exclusive to you (until the next generation, but that is too early to think about that and they may not carry your genetic code for a second tail): flight. I am not telling you to swan dive off a high tree and stop yourself inches off of the ground, Miles. You can overcome your fear; it is integrated into your genetic code after all._

_I wish I could be with you to see the young fox you have become, and I hear Rosie (give my thanks to Princess Sally and her friend, Bunnie, too) has done a wonderful job with your upbringing! Do not forget the promise I made to you when I had to sacrifice myself so you could still be free- our Hearts will mend when we are reunited once again. I still carry your Heart near mine and I know that you carry mine near yours. I wish I can put more into this message but paper is a hard commodity to come by at this time. I will leave you with the parting words of our family credo: _Fortis in fide supremaque _(Courageous and Loyal to the Last Breath)._

_Love you always,_

_Mom and Dad_

Tears began to refill his eyes as Tails reread the letter again. Where ever they were he knew they were safe for the time being and hoped to be reunited soon with them. Yawing deeply and shaking his head as sleep soon began to creep up on him. It was only a few hours since sunrise and he was still sleepy from the previous twilight mission he was on.

Stealthily, he crept down the tree knowing that he would be in trouble for being up that high. He internally scowled over the restriction that was put over him. The pup could not go anywhere near the tree line, and that had been in place _before_ he had learned to fly with his twin appendages. Tails had always dreamed of touching the heavens and if he could not do it under his own power; he would find an alternate way to do so.

Making sure that he was hidden from view he dropped from a branch halfway up and stopped himself about two feet from the ground with his twin tails.

"I think I've got it," he mentally thought, vertically lowering himself to the ground while grinning ear to ear.

Secretly he had been practicing new ways to fly which included: vertical climbs with his body perpendicular to the ground, loops, U-turns, flying backwards, and a multitude of other aerial tricks he could think of or had read about. Slinging his knapsack as he walk, he made the short trek back to his hut. The pup passed a few of the residence doing a few of their chores before it became too hot for them to work.

Upon entering his hut, he fetched his mother's letter out of his knapsack and prepared to return it back to the box he was given but the rest of the contents were empty. Tails returned the letter back to its proper place and looked around his hut for the second article that was missing. He then spotted Geoffrey walking on a pair of wooden crutches in the distance, and soon spotted something orange sticking out of one his bandolier pouches.

"How _dare_ he!" Tails angrily thought, exiting his hut to confront the skunk. "First he criticizes me, and now he steals from me!" It did not take him long to catch up with the skunk, "Hey, Geoffrey!"

The retreating skunk slowly turned around to face the one who had called him. To his surprise it was, his caller was the last individual he had expected to speak to him.

"May I help you?" he asked, suppressing a wince from the pain in his neck.

"You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back!"

"Like what!" the skunk snapped back, their raised voice now drew a crowd.

"Like that orange sash in one of your pouches!"

"What would a pup like you know what this is!" pulling out said item.

"What's going on-" Sally's voice demanded, drawn to the scene by the exchange but her voice was drowned out by Tails' own retort.

"HA!" his voice barked. "That orange sash is for the Captain of the Royal Guard! If you looked closely at the two buttons on it you would see: the Royal Family's seal and the second would show the family's crest serving them. No one was suppose to know about this except the two I mentioned!" enunciating his latter words.

To say the skunk was stunned was an understatement. He was surprised at the pup's knowledge, but was uncertain if the pup was telling the truth. He never believed that he would be arguing over a stupid thing like a Royal Guard Sash to a mere pup, but the pup was a Prower and they were known to show fits of courage in the face of danger. Geoffrey was soon brought out of his stunned state by the voice of the Princess.

"Geoffrey, did you take the Sash from Tails' hut?'

The skunk slowly turned towards her. He noticed that she was dressed in a pink robe and was barefooted, but he ignored her current state and spoke, "Yes, I felt that the recent gusts of wind had sent it to his direction, and felt that it was time for you to select a new one, Princess."

"That I cannot do," shaking her head.

Geoffrey blinked in surprise, "Excuse me?"

"Tails speaks the truth on the matter of the Royal Guard Sash," she spoke calmly before raising her voice in authority, "and I want a vow of secrecy on the matter!" She made sure that she got several nods from the crowd before returning towards Geoffrey, "Now return his Sash and apologize!"

The purple beret wearing skunk did as he was told and walked as fast as he could away from the scene. As he passed Ari, he mistook his cough for a laugh being held.

"Oh, can it, Ram!" Geoffrey snapped, spinning to face his heckler.

"I'm feeling the effects of a cold- if you must know," Ari replied, sounding a bit hoarse. "I'm appalled at what you've just done. Your father would be highly disappointed with you."

"My father would've put you up for court martial for that stunt you pulled during the Great War!"

"You're young only once, Geoffrey," Ari calmly retorted, shrugging his shoulders, already knowing the subject that Geoffrey was getting at again. "Don't forget that your father, Maj. Ian St. John, was still paralyzed _even_ after the War was over."

"When His Majesty is found," Geoffrey snarled, his crutches shaking with anger, "I'll make sure that you get the court martial you deserve!"

"His Majesty would think otherwise," he cryptically replied with a laugh at the end. His reply caused the skunk's eyes to pop open and Ari continued, "He's fine but trapped in a prison that he can't escape from."

Geoffrey's mouth opened and closed like a fish before finding his voice again, "Trapped? Then why don't we free him!"

"My father," Sally, who had been unusually quiet during the exchange, interrupted barely speaking above a whisper, "is trapped in a place called the Void. If he were to leave his body would begin to crystallize instantly killing him if he would stay out for too long. He's safer where he is."

The skunk's face paled when he heard her speak and only nodded as much as his neck would allow. He respected her decision, and turned to leave only to come face to face with the stern face of the resident doctor. Geoffrey, in his current condition, shook with fear when he would otherwise not be bothered by Dr. Quack's stern look.

"Took off your cervical collar and back brace, no?" it was a rhetorical question and the skunk knew it. "You've just went through a rigorous rehabilitation session, and I highly advised against doing it in your given condition. Now," the doc's voice was surprisingly calm given his patient's irresponsibility for his own health, "do you wish to be paralyzed for the rest of your life?"

His patient was stunned at the calmness in Dr. Quack's voice and it took him a while to reply back to him, "No, I only wish to heal quickly and help free Mobius."

"Just like your father," the doc muttered, shaking his head before he clearly spoke his next words. "Then you know where you need to be," he pointed in the direction of the infirmary.

The crowd slowly disperse and went back to their recently abandoned chores as Geoffrey was escorted back to return the proper medical equipment back on him. Several negative comments were made by them under their breaths towards Geoffrey, and many of them were heard talking about hiding their most valuable possessions just in case the skunk repeated the action again- accidental theft or not.

Tails glared at the retreating skunk's figure until he was out of sight. After the skunk vanished, he returned back to his hut with one of his most prized possessions for a much need slumber.

Sally yawned as sleep crept back into her eyes after Geoffrey left with Dr. Quack. In her current state, she turned a blind eye- when she would normally not do- on Tails' outburst since Geoffrey had done an unthinkable action: stealing something and lying to her. She walked back to her hut when another yawn escaped from her mouth, but sleep would have to wait due to a friend calling her name.

"Hey, Sal!" she cocked her head to see Sonic walking up to her.

Sally noticed that he was wide awake and it always amazed her how he managed to do that after a late night mission.

"You're not going to let _him_ get away with stealing T-2's Sash."

"I would reprimanded him, but in his current state I shouldn't. Doing so would make me no better then Robotnik."

"If he-"

"Sonic don't," she interrupted her spiny companion. "He's already been hurt and he needs time to heal. Hurting him would make you no better then Robotnik. Don't forget that he had no qualms Robotizing children."

The blue speeder visibly shuddered at the thought.

"Don't remind me," he muttered, vividly remembering the scene. "I've already seen it through two sets of eyes when Unc was Robotized and the less I think about it the better. I spent days since then trying to find ways to free him."

"I know," she replied, nodding in agreement. "Now let's not dwell on the past… both of them and let's focus on trying to stop Snively."

He nodded in agreement and silently hoping to permanently halt the midget's attempt at world domination real soon.

"Now if you excuse me, Sonic," the princess interrupting his short train of thought, "I need some sleep since it has been a long night for all of us."

"Right," the hedgehog nodded. "Pleasant dreams, Sal."

"Why thank you, Sonic."

The princess silently mused at those past thoughts as she and Sonic had no memory of those events prior to their time travel escapade to the past. She thought that a quirk in time gave them those memories, but Sonic seemed to have ignored them before he discussed it with her after getting 'a mondo headache' just unconsciously thinking of them or when someone mentions a past event he had no knowledge of. Sally chuckled when Sonic- as he _rarely_ does- ask for help on something, and thought that he had been punished enough with those memories when he had been heavily chastised by Rosie when several of his pranks reserved for Antoine backfired hitting nearly everyone in Knothole!

* * *

As the pair went their separate ways, the resident dragon was brooding near the Ring Pool. Dulcy was deep in thought at what he had just been told by Robotnik's lackey. She expelled fire and smoke with each exhale through her nostrils and the seams of her mouth.

"How dare you do this to my Ma, Fatso?" she raged in thought. "How dare you kill my Ma like that? Yet," her raged thoughts softened some, "how can I tell the others that I know he's telling the true, and that we dragons can see if someone is being deceptive or not?" She sadly sighed as the fire and smoke from deep within her chest died down, "Why did you have to leave me, Ma? Why have you told me to come here to be safe?"

* * *

As Dulcy continued to question her mother's actions, Antoine was walking down a beaten path that would eventually lead to Rotor, the resident mechanic's, workshop. With book in paw, the resident coward spewed out various words in thoughts from his native tongue to butchered words of the Mobotropian language.

He soon happened upon the workshop of his friend. The workshop looked like a child had haphazardly put it together with connectable building blocks. The roof was patched together with two-by-sixes and the walls appeared to be collapsing in on itself. A single porthole and a single window on the roof could be seen. The tail-less coyote poked his head through the open door to find Rotor and Bunnie present- the latter getting her robotic legs worked on. A quick glance of the place mirrored that of a child's room- belongings thrown around the place. Discarded junk, various tools, and other miscellaneous things could be seen including Ro-Becca, Rotor's failed robotic assistant which took a liking towards Antoine when he unknowingly was the cause of the robot's affections towards him.

"Okay," Rotor said, stowing his wrench in his tool belt and removed a small square-shaped box. "Let's try your extendo-legs again.

He pressed the button on the box; this action cause her legs to quickly extend but she also bumped her head on one of the roof beams.

"Ouch!" Bunnie moaned, rubbing her sore spot. "Watch what you're doin' down there, Sugah!"

"Ooops!" Rotor said, fumbling the device in his digit flippers before sheepishly adding, "Sorry about that."

He pressed the device again retracting her legs, but they retracted too far ending with her not having any legs- just feet attached to her waist.

"Rotor!" she shrieked, embarrassed at her current state.

"Ooops!" the walrus fumbled the device again when she yelled at him. "I'll fix it!" He pressed the button again and Bunnie was returned back to her original height. "Oh, well," Rotor sighed with a shrug, "back to the drawing board."

Antoine cleared his throat, making his presence known, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, Ant," Rotor greeted, putting the device on his work desk. " What can I do for you?"

"Can you be making me a sword that can cut through metal?"

"Antoine, I'm a mechanic not a blacksmith," he reminded his friend.

"Can it be done," the tail-less coyote forcibly said.

Sighing, Rotor removed his hat to scratch his head, "It could be done, but I'll need time, resources, and blueprint of one. I also have other projects to get done, and it would have to wait."

Antoine opened his book to the page he had earlier bookmarked and gave it to the walrus. The page contained a photograph of three and Rotor quickly identified Sally's father in the picture, but the last two he could not identify.

"Your father," Bunnie breathed, peering next to Rotor.

"_Oui_," Antoine sadly nodded.

Bunnie's gaze returned to the picture of the coyote's father to see a family resemblance between father and son and her gaze soon turned to the last figure in the picture.

"This must be Tails father," she pointed at the blue-eyed fox.

"_Oui_, Com. Amadeus Prower, Captain of the Royal Guard and Maestro of the Battlefield. The picture was taken before he lost his eye in a battle," he clarified. "My father had," he paused trying to find the right word, "many respects towards Com. Prower and his entire family. My family is well known back home in Mercia just as Com. Prower's family is well known in Mobotropolis. After seeing the Hall of Heroes in ruins, I am wanting to restore my family's honor and those who were also being entombed there."

His friends stood with mouths agape, stunned at his short speech. They knew that he was a coward all of their lives but could he be pulling an one-eighty on them?

"Okay, Ant," Rotor said, closing the book. "You convinced me. Just give me what I need to know and the time I need to make it. Just remember, don't get your hopes up if it's not what you expected."

Antoine nodded and gave the measurements of the bladed and hilt, how much the blade should curve and where, its weight, and, surprisingly, exactly where the center of gravity should be on the blade.

"That should do it, Ant," the mechanic said, finishing his notes before returning his friend's book. I'll call you when it's ready."

"_Merci beaucoup_, Rotor, _merci beaucoup_," he replied with a nod.

"You're welcome, Ant," the walrus replied before turning back to Bunnie. "I think we'll work on your extendo-legs again another time. I'll find a way to get the kinks out of them."

"It's fine, Sugah," the half-cybernetic rabbit reassured her companion. "You're the best mechanic I've eva seen."

Rotor blushed slightly before bidding his friends farewell before returning back to his work.

Antoine and Bunnie walked the path returning back to Knothole. Along the way each of them cast furtive glances when the other was not looking, and there were odd instances when their eyes met; this type of action led to having both parties glancing away from the other blushing. Antoine's heart began to accelerate at faster and faster intervals when he cast a gaze at his companion. Sure, she was _magnifique_ and _un véritable ami_, but he could not help but think: "_Est-ce l'amour_?"

* * *

**Post Author's Note:**_ Well, now we have some questions answered (like the reason for Sally's outburst in the previous chapter), while a few have been left unanswered while a few new questions are raised. My lips are sealed and will not devulge the answers to any of those questions. Y'all have to wait until they're answered._

_One thing, Naugus in this incarnation DOES indeed have a tail and I thought I would keep it since I'm going for the original appearances (Sonic and Tails only got color added to their eyes)._

_This is Gryffindor-Sword, Long Time SatAM Fan, falling out! Until next time, keep those Freedom Fighting Spirits alive!_


End file.
